Men’s Soccer Is Heading To The NCAA Tournament After 2-1 SLIAC Tournament Championship Win
The Westminster Blue Jays made history with their 2-1 win over Webster University in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament Championship game. The Blue Jays have appeared in 14 SLIAC Tournaments and can finally call themselves the SLIAC Tournament Champions and will head to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The Blue Jays also tied for the 2013 SLIAC Title with Fontbonne and Webster, all with an 8-1 SLIAC record.
When asked about what this win mean to the program, Head Coach Andrew Bordelon said “I think this means the world to the program. They worked hard and we got off to a tough start to the season, but this group never stopped believing.”
The Blue Jays came in tonight seeking revenge on Webster for last year’s championship game loss and their lone conference play loss this year. The Blue Jays scored just 44 seconds into the game off a penalty kick taken by sophomore Samuel Lopez. Junior Jacob Appelbaum dribbled around a defender and took a shot that landed in the bottom left corner of the goal to put the Blue Jays up 2-0 in the 38th minute.
Webster scored a goal just 3 minutes into the second half, putting them right back into the game. Webster took five more shots on goal, but freshman keeper Raul Belman Romero held down the goal; he ended the game with 8 saves.
Senior Michael McDonough was named the SLIAC Tournament MVP. “McDonough has been the heart of our team all year long,” commented Coach Bordelon when asked about the MVP. “He’s been our leader throughout the course of the year.”
Seniors Zach Moore and Andrew Presnell and freshman Drew Cook were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Blue Jays had 10 athletes named to the SLIAC teams for their efforts throughout the season. Each school has one student-athlete named to the All-Sportsmanship Team for their sportsmanship throughout the season and Westminster’s senior John Davis was named to the team for the Blue Jays. Freshmen Drew Cook and Daryl Doran were named to the SLIAC All-Conference First Team. Drew Cook tallied 19 points throughout the 2013 season. He scored 8 goals including one penalty kick against Iowa Wesleyan and grabbed three assists. Cook rounded out the regular season with a .395 shot on goal percentage. Doran played in 18 games and has helped the Blue Jays on the defensive end keep the opponents to just 22 goals in throughout the 18 games.
McDonough, Presnell, Belman Romero and junior Muzi Shongwe were placed on the All-Conference Second Team. Seniors Ty Cook and Zach Moore, along with junior Connor Hollrah, rounded out the All-Conference teams, earning Honorable Mention.
The Blue Jays will play Carleton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
