The Seton Hall men’s soccer team fell in overtime to Xavier, 2-1, in the team's last home game of the season on Saturday night. The loss eliminates the Pirates from Big East Tournament contention, as their record drops to 6-6-2 overall, 2-5-1 in-conference.
Each team began the game slowly, as neither could maintain possession in the first 10 minutes. Eventually, the Pirates took control of the ball but were unable to break past Xavier’s strong defense.
In the 37th minute, CJ Tibbling floated his penalty kick into the top corner to give the Pirates the lead. The goal was Tibbling’s team-leading sixth of the season.
The Pirates held the lead for the rest of the half, with shots even at two apiece.
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The 14-member senior class was honored prior to kickoff at Owen T. Carroll Field. Photo via SHU Athletics.[/caption]
Coming out for the second half, Xavier looked to take control of the game, seeking a tying goal. Chances continued to pile up for the Musketeers, but goalkeeper Andreas Nota was solid in net for the Pirates, coming up with three consecutive saves.
In the 82nd minute, however, Xavier took to the spot for a penalty kick mirroring the one the Pirates were given in the first half. The Musketeers capitalized, evening the game at one.
In the final minute of regulation, Carlton McKenzie laid out a perfect pass for Tibbling to score the go-ahead goal, but Tibbling was unable to get his shot on frame.
Tibbling had another chance in the first overtime period to convert, missing by an even narrower margin than his end-of-regulation attempt. One minuter later, Xavier scored to win the game 2-1.
Before the match, a 14-member senior class was honored, five of whom started: co-captain David Arvidsson, Corey Burkhardt, Nico Andersen, Tomas Greco and Gabriel Viola. Co-captain and senior Nick Najera featured off the bench, in addition to Morten Wenaas.
The Pirates will wrap up their season on Oct. 31 against Villanova University at 3 p.m.
Brittany Tomore can be reached at Brittany.tomore@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @BrittTomore.
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