PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University scored a pair of second half goals Tuesday evening and went on to upset top-seeded Plymouth State University, 2-0, in the semifinals of the Little East Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament at Panther Field.
The victory propels the Colonials (12-5-4) into Saturday’s LEC Championship game against the winner of the other semifinal between second-seeded Keene State and third-seeded Rhode Island College. The KSC-RIC winner will host the title game. PSU (12-3-2) must await the ECAC playoff selections, which will be announced Monday.
After a scoreless first half, Western nearly got on the board 12 minutes into the second half, but a header by senior David Forero (West Haven, Conn.) glanced off the crossbar. The Colonials finally broke through with 24:30 remaining when sophomore Matt Cusack (New Milford, Conn.) took a volley and shot it past PSU senior keeper Brad Wilby (Haddonfield, N.J.) into the left side of the net.
With time winding down and the Panthers pressing, Western caught the hosts in a transition with 10:38 to play and freshman Bradley Fidler (Morgantown, Pa.) slid one past Wilby for an insurance goal.
The Western defense did the rest, keeping the Panthers off the board. The Colonials had a slim 3-2 advantage in shots, as Wilby finished with one save and WCSU senior Mark Pataky (Trumbull, Conn.) had two.
Western picked up the victory after the two teams had battled to a 1-1 tie a week and a half ago.
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Partly Cloudy. Temperature: 68; Wind: W at 4; Conditions as of Sat May 18 at 12:00 PM EDT