Box Score SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 25 Salisbury University men's soccer team needed overtime and penalty kicks, but it was able to get past Stevenson University in the semifinal round of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament Wednesday afternoon. After 110 minutes of 1-1 action, the game went to penalty kicks where the Sea Gulls prevailed 5-3. It marked Salisbury's first time advancing on penalty kicks since getting past Arcadia in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2004.
The Sea Gulls were able to outmuscle the Mustangs, the third-seeded team in the CAC tournament, in the physical match and move on to Saturday's CAC championship match. Salisbury will be vying for the program's eighth CAC title.
Salisbury (12-3-4), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, scored on all five of its penalty kick chances, getting tallies from sophomore Pat Callahan, senior Mike Napolitano, sophomore Jimmy Mundy, senior Dave Corrigan and senior Justin Lambert. The Mustangs missed their second effort and when Lambert buried the Sea Gulls' fifth chance it sent Salisbury on to the CAC title game.
The Mustangs (11-5-3) got on the board first, as Ansger Otto put home his 15th goal of the season in the 55th minute. Otto found some space down the left side of the field and got into the 18-yard box before chipping the ball over Salisbury sophomore keeper John Vnenchak.
But the Gulls would not go quietly, attacking the Stevenson goal and breaking through with the equalizer in the 70th minute. Callahan took a rip from 25 yards away from the goal and the ball deflected off the foot of a Stevenson defender into the right side, tying the game at 1-1. The goal was Callahan's first of the season.
The win avenges a loss that SU took at the hands of Stevenson on October 6.
Salisbury dominated statistically, holding a 21-10 edge in shots, including 15 shots in the second half. The Gulls were also awarded seven corner kicks to Stevenson's four.
Vnenchak turned away three Mustang shots as he led the Sea Gulls to their first championship appearance since winning the 2008 championship.
The CAC championship match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 6 at York (Pa.) College. The Spartans, the top seed in the tournament, topped University of Mary Washington, 2-0, on Wednesday afternoon. Game time for Saturday's match is to be determined.
Salisbury and York have met for the CAC championship five times, with SU holding a 3-2 advantage over York in the series. The last time the two teams met in the title game was in 2007, with the Sea Gulls claiming a 2-0 victory with an assist coming from current senior forward Ben DeLisle on the game-winner.
