ESU Denied PSAC Men’s Soccer Championship in Penalty Kicks

SHIPPENSBURG – Shippensburg claimed the 2010 PSAC men’s soccer championship with a 3-2 edge in a penalty kick shootout over East Stroudsburg University after playing to a 1-1 tie through 110 minutes on Saturday night at David See Field.

Shippensburg (14-5-1) converted its first three penalty kicks to take a 3-1 lead. They missed their next attempt, ESU (13-6-1) pulled within 3-2 and the Red Raiders missed again before the Warriors’ last shot was saved by goalkeeper Clay Sale on the final kick of the night.

Redshirt senior midfielder Michael Kane scored the Warriors’ goal 1:14 into the second half and Austin Hill leveled the score at 1-1 in the 59th minute. Neither team scored for the next 50 minutes to send the PSAC championship game to penalty kicks for just the second time in 41 years.

ESU held a 26-20 advantage in shots and 9-4 advantage in shots on target. Senior Troy Hernandez made three saves for the Warriors and Sale had eight saves for Shippensburg.

ESU was denied its 20th PSAC championship and is now 15-4-1 in PSAC title games under head coach Jerry Sheska, who has led his team to 20 finals in 29 seasons. The Warriors were seeking their third championship in the last five seasons after posting consecutive 1-0 (2OT) victories over Lock Haven in 2006 and 2007.

Shippensburg won its second PSAC title after a 35-year hiatus. The Red Raiders beat Slippery Rock 1-0 for the championship in 1975 and last played in a final in 1988. Both teams are credited with ties since the championship game went to penalty kicks, ending Ship’s school-record 11-game winning streak but extending its unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Both schools will await the announcement of the field for the NCAA Division II Championship, which will be made on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ncaa.com.


Notes:
* Penalty kick order:
1st round: Ship – Miles Harringer (made); ESU – Michael Kane (hit post)
2nd round: Ship – Michael Celius (made); ESU – Khriswayne Wallace (made)
3rd round: Ship – Simon Neubauer (made); ESU – Matthew Geidner (saved)
4th round: Ship – Dave Rostad (high); ESU – Steve Sollecito (made)
5th round: Ship – Oli Templeton (missed); ESU – Danny Drago (saved)

* Shippensburg is now 1-1-3 in PSAC championship games.  The Red Raiders won their first outright title in 1975 and shared the crown in 1971 after a 0-0 tie with Lock Haven. They lost in penalty kicks in 1978 vs. Lock Haven and lost to Lock Haven in regulation in 1988.

* ESU has played in 26 of the 41 PSAC finals since the current format began in 1969 and is 19-6-1 in championship games.  The Warriors’ 19 titles are one behind Lock Haven for the most in PSAC history.  Conference championships were claimed in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1985, 1989, 1992-95, 1997-03 and 2006-07.