ABINGTON, Pa. — St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s men’s soccer season ended one goal short of the United East championship match Tuesday night, when top-seeded Penn State Abington scored on a header in the 103rd minute to win their semifinal 2-1 in double overtime.
Hugh Nungessor rose to meet Amerr Yagoub’s corner kick from the left side and floated a header toward the upper right corner at 102:20, ending a game the fourth-seeded Seahawks had pulled level early in the second half. St. Mary’s finishes 9-9-1. Abington, unbeaten in conference play at 8-0-0, improved to 12-4-4 and extended its winning streak to five.
The trip to the semifinals was the Seahawks’ ninth straight, a run they extended with a 2-0 quarterfinal shutout of Penn College.
How it unfolded
Abington struck first in the 24th minute. Aramis Shire sent a long ball into the box, and Da’Vid Robinson one-timed it into the lower right corner for his fourth goal of the season. The Nittany Lions carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
St. Mary’s answered at 58:04 with a goal built by two Southern Maryland products. Junior midfielder AJ Gawel of Hollywood, a Leonardtown High graduate, slid a flat pass to his right for junior forward Nick Haney of Chesapeake Beach, a Northern High graduate. Haney took one long touch and drove a shot from the top of the box into the lower right corner for his 10th goal.
Neither side scored again in regulation or the first overtime, when each team managed two shots. Senior captain Zack Reed of Leonardtown, also a Leonardtown High graduate, made five saves in goal for St. Mary’s. Abington keeper Hector Ortiz stopped four.
By the numbers
The game was close almost everywhere on the stat sheet. Abington held small edges in shots on goal and a wider one on corner kicks, the set piece that decided it.
Stat St. Mary’s Penn State Abington Goals 1 2 Shots 12 12 Shots on goal 5 7 Saves 5 4 Corner kicks 1 5 Fouls 15 13 Offsides 1 2
Junior midfielder Zach Blaum of Mechanicsville, Va., led the Seahawks with five shots, one on target. Haney added four shots, three on goal, and Franco Reyes had two. Nungessor led Abington with four shots, two on target.
Blaum and Haney finish the season tied for the team scoring lead, each with 10 goals and seven assists for 27 points.
Up next
The Seahawks’ season is complete. Abington advances to the United East championship match. With Blaum, Haney and Gawel all juniors, St. Mary’s returns its two leading scorers and the midfielder who set up Tuesday’s equalizer, while Reed, the senior captain in goal, played his final game. The full recap and box score are posted on the SMCM Athletics site.
