PORTSMOUTH – On Senior Day, men's soccer sent the five members of its senior class (Ryan Beatty, Jordan Cross, Chad Johnston, Brandon Prince, Luke Purpero ) out with a win in the final home game of the regular season, defeating Cumberlands 2-0. However, the victory kept alive the prospect that the Bears (3-11, 3-4 MSC) could host an opening round game in the MSC Tournament as Cumberlands (8-4-1, 5-3 MSC) is currently in fourth but just one game ahead of the Bears.
With the win, the Bears remain in a fifth place tie with Bluefield (a team they will see this weekend) and are just one game behind the Cumberlands and would hold the tiebreak if the two squads end up with identical records.
Looking at the box score, Cumberlands outshot the Bears, 25-10, and had a 14-6 advantage in shots on goal. However, the one category the Bears did win was the only one that mattered as Chris Wiget and Brice Patterson took advantage when they had the chances. In goal, Thomas Carbonari posted his third shutout of the season. However, this shutout was by far the most impressive of the three as he stopped 14 shots - tying his season high. In his first two shutouts, he was called on to stop just 11 shots combined in the two games.
The Patriots held a 15-5 advantage in first half shots, but that would matter little as it was the Bears that carried a 1-0 lead into the break. Eight first half saves by Carbonari kept the Cumberlands' offense frustrated.
The first breakthrough on the scoreboard would come with just 55 seconds remaining in the first half. Patterson, who was just subbed in during the 40th minute of play, played a perfect cross to the head of Wiget. Wiget, who was also in the game as a sub after entering during the 27th minute of play, would put the perfect direction on the ball, beating the Patriots' keeper to the far post. For the freshman Wiget, the goal was the first of his SSU career. The assist was also the first point in the career of Patterson.
Cumberlands was not going to go away that easily and came back with five shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of the second half. But once again, Carbonari was in position to stop every potential equalizer. The most impressive save of the evening came when he deflected a shot off a corner kick headed directly for the upper 90 to preserve the 1-0 lead.
The Bears would add their insurance when Patterson scored his first career goal in the 66th minute. After setting a bouncing ball just outside the 18, he took on the defender and created his own shot that went over the hands of the goalie and just under the crossbar. He was given a yellow card warning for the celebration, but the damage was already done on the scoreboard as the Bears held a 2-0 lead with just under 25 minutes to play.
During those final minutes of play, Carbonari would be tested just once more and made the stop to tie his season best save total and finish off his third shutout win of the season.
Men's soccer will be back on the road for the final three regular season games of 2012. The first matchup will be a huge test with the aforementioned Bluefield match. The two squads are currently tied for fifth in the MSC standings. The men's match will follow the women and is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
