Bulldogs fall to Terriers, 2-0, in NEC Semis Friday night

LORETTO, PA. – The Bryant University men's soccer team fell to St. Francis Brooklyn, 2-0, in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals Friday evening at Degol Field.

Despite a light snowfall and winter chill in the air, both teams came out strong with plenty of good opportunities in the early going. Connor Norat (Wilmington, Del.) and Jozef Jennings (Barrington, RI) had a chance inside the goal box but couldn't get off a solid shot on net. 

Pedro-Lucas Ferreira (East Boston, Mass.) served an excellent long ball inside the box but the pass fell just beyond the reach of a charging Brett Larocque (Ottawa, Ontario) who was making a strong rush toward the goal.

Moments later, senior Tony Flaim (Fort Lee, NJ) rifled a shot from 25 yards out but St. Francis Brooklyn goalie Jack Binks made a nice diving save to his left to keep the game scoreless.

The Terriers held a 10-7 shot advantage in the first half but Bulldog junior netminder Chris Knaub (Yarmouth, Maine), who finished the match with a game-high 10 saves, and the Bryant defense held tough. 

Knaub would continue to play well, thwarting a dangerous shot from 15 yards out by St. Francis Brooklyn's John Makaya 8 minutes into the second half.

Later in the half, Makaya would send in a chip shot from just outside the box only to hit the left post. However, a minute later, the Terriers would finally convert as Vincent Bezecourt would pick up a loose ball in front of Knaub and beat the Bulldog keeper to his left for the game's first score with 27 minutes left to play.

Ferreira nearly evened things up off a beautifully placed corner kick by Matt Guerriero (Pickering, Ontario). But Binks was in perfect position to stop the well-struck low attempt by the Bulldog sophomore.

Bezecourt would net his second goal of the game off a Bulldog turnover in their own defensive end as the freshman tucked a low show past Knaub to make it 2-0 with 5:51 left in the contest.

Friday's semifinal was a rematch of last year's NEC Conference Championship game in New Britain, Conn. won by the Terriers, 3-2 in overtime. The two teams met once this season with the Bulldogs and Terriers battling to a 1-1 overtime draw in Smithfield, RI two weeks ago.

Friday marks the final match of a historic 2014 campaign for the Bulldogs which included multiple Division I program records such as most wins in a season (9), NEC wins in a season (5), the highest finish in the NEC Standings (2nd), and five All-NEC recipients.