By Nairem Moran · nmoran@smcm.edu

St. Mary’s City, Md. – The dance continues for the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s soccer team after knocking off third-seeded Salisbury University in the 2018 Capital Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament Semifinals Wednesday afternoon. St. Mary’s (12-3-4) notched a 1-0 win over the Sea Gulls (11-4-3) behind junior defender Andrew Kalinoski‘s (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) header.

As the No. 2 seed, St. Mary’s will now travel to the top-seed, No. 12 University of Mary Washington, who advanced 4-2 on penalty kicks over fourth-seeded Frostburg State University, this Saturday, November 3 at 1:00 p.m. The Seahawks will look to avenge their 5-1 regular-season loss to then No. 7 Mary Washington as they contend for the program’s first-ever CAC title.

This will be St. Mary’s fourth appearance in the CAC championship game and first since 2015. The Seahawks fell 3-0 in 1991 to Mary Washington; 1-0 to the Eagles in 1992; and 2-0 to Salisbury University in 2015.

St. Mary’s 1, Salisbury 0

How It Happened

  • St. Mary’s controlled the tempo and flow of the game from the start. The Seahawks outshot Salisbury, 17-10, and garnered nine corner kicks to none for SU.
  • Sophomore forward Isaac Ekobo (Hyattsville, Md./Thomas Stone) was the first and only Seahawk to test the Sea Gulls’ goalkeeper Trevor Brookhart in the first half.
  • The Seahawks finally broke through in the 64th minute when senior defender Pascal Iraola (Kensington, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) sent in a long throw-in from the right sideline and Kalinoski headed it in just inside the near post for his second score of the season.
  • Junior goalkeeper Patrick Paolini (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) made all three of his second half saves after St. Mary’s goal to preserve the team’s 11th shutout of the season.

For the Seahawks

  • Scorers: Kalinoski (1 goal); Iraola (1 assist)
  • Goalkeeper: Paolini (3 saves, 0 goals allowed, 110:00)

Photo Credit: Bill Wood

For Salisbury

  • Scorers: None
  • Goalkeepers: Trevor Brookhart (2 saves, 1 goal allowed, 90:00)

Notes

  • St. Mary’s gained its fourth consecutive win over the Sea Gulls but Salisbury still holds a 29-10-3 record in the series, which began in 1979. All four wins during the Seahawk win streak have been one-goal decisions and seven of St. Mary’s 10 wins have happened in Seahawk Stadium. SU’s last win over the Seahawks was a 2-0 shutout in the 2015 CAC Tournament Final in Salisbury.

Up Next for the Seahawks

  • Nov. 3 at Mary Washington (13-1-4) – Fredericksburg, Va. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Mary Washington dominates the series with a 41-4-3 record, including back-to-back wins. The two sides have met seven times in the postseason, including twice in the CAC Tournament Final in 1991 and 1992, with the Eagles taking all seven games. St. Mary’s last win over the Eagles was a 2-0 decision last fall during the regular season in St. Mary’s City. The Seahawks have never won in Fredericksburg.