Men's soccer falls to St. Francis Brooklyn in OT of NEC Finals, 3-2, Sunday in New Britain, Conn.

NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – Despite a magical run during the final month of the season, the Bryant University men's soccer team fell to St. Francis Brooklyn, 3-2, in overtime Sunday afternoon in the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship.

After the two evenly matched teams stood gridlocked at 2-2 after the final buzzer of regulation sounded, St. Francis Brooklyn's Andy Cormack put the Terriers into the NCAA Tournament off a set piece from just outside the box in the 97th minute.

In similar fashion to Friday night's semifinal match, the Bulldogs wasted little time getting on the board as sophomore Brett Larocque (Ottawa, Ont.) added to his already teaming-leading 17-points. In the 8th minute, classmate Marco Addonizio (Lynnfield, Mass.) collected the ball in the Bryant attacking-third and put a beautiful touch on a pass to a streaking Larocque who fired a bullet past St. Francis keeper Jack Binks to grant Bryant the early 1-0 advantage.

However, the Terriers were relentless in their attack, testing sophomore netminder Chris Knaub (Yarmouth, Maine) right from the get-go. But Knaub and the Bryant backline remained poised, making four huge stops in the opening frame.

Out of the break, both teams went on the offensive with the Terriers netting the equalizer in 47th minute off a free kick from leading scorers Kevin Correa. Just over a minute later, the Bulldogs responded, as Larocque found a wide-open Lucas Guerriero (Pickering, Ont.) in front of the net, putting home his second marker of the year.

With the action shifting primarily in favor of St. Francis Brooklyn, the Terriers were awarded another free kick from just outside the box in the 70th minute. In almost a replay from his score in the 47th minute, Correa booted a snipe to the left corner of the net past Knaub to even the score for the third time, 2-2.

After 20 minutes of even play the two teams went to an extra period to decide a victor and in the 97th minute, Cormack punched his team's ticket to the NCAA Tourney.

Knaub, Larocque and junior forward Connor Norat (Wilmington, Del.) each earned All-NEC Tournament team for their tremendous performances over the weekend.

2013 marked a season of firsts in many respects for the Black and Gold, who set a Division I program record with seven victories and their first-ever trip to the NEC Tournament. The Bulldogs, who return almost their entire roster in 2014 played their best soccer when it mattered most and are sure to be contenders in the Northeast Conference for years to come.