Courtesy of RITAthletics.com
ROCHESTER, NY — The fourth-seeded RIT men’s soccer team (8-5-3) extended its winning streak to four games and unbeaten streak to eight with a 2-1 win over No. 5 seed Clarkson University (8-8-2) in the Liberty League Quarterfinals from cold and blustery Tiger Stadium Tuesday. RIT advances to take on top-seeded Hobart College in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Shots were 18-6 in favor of RIT, who took four corner kicks to none for the Golden Knights. RIT took over in the second half, out-shooting Clarkson, 12-1. Mark-Vincent Sansone (Hilton, NY/Aquinas Institute) and Simon Garno (Hilton, NY/Hilton) scored for RIT, while Gene Sicoli (Commack, NY/Commack) and Dean Kouroupas (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) had assists. Peter Cinibulk (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook) got the win in net, making two saves.
Alex Moureaud scored for Clarkson, while Riley McDonald made four saves in net for the Golden Knights.
Clarkson took an early lead on Moureaud’s goal in the 23rd minute. He scored on a bending shot from 15-yards out over the out-stretched hands of Cinibulk. RIT generated some good early chances prior to the Clarkson goal, but could not capitalize.
“I was happy how we answered after giving up the goal,” said RIT head coach Bill Garno. “It was a little more helter-skelter in the second half, but we took it to them and got the result we wanted.”
The Tigers finally broke through in the 30th minute. Sansone scored on a header into the bottom corner off a corner kick from Sicoli. Sansone was parked at the back post and headed a shot down for the goal.
The Tigers generated more chances early in the second half, but shots were just off the mark. Garno gave RIT a lead on his goal in the 78th minute. Kouroupas fed Garno with a pass. He gathered and fired a bending shot from 20-yard out into the top right corner for his third goal of the season to give the Tigers the lead for good.
Cinibulk and his defense held the Golden Knights out for the final 11 minutes to advance to Saturday’s semifinals. The Tigers also defeated the Golden Knights, 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 30 and now lead the all-time series, 25-20-4.
With the win, RIT has won four straight games and are 6-0-2 in its last eight contests, having scored 24 goals over that stretch. The Tigers completed the month of October with a 6-0-1 mark. RIT is now 2-1 in Liberty League postseason contests. It was RIT’s first postseason victory in six seasons.
Saturday’s opponent Hobart was the last team to defeat the Tigers, 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 27. Jared Short (Grafton, WI/Cedarburg) scored for the Tigers in that contest.
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