Florida Memorial Wins Men's Soccer Championships
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Seventh seeded Florida Memorial (8-10) won the Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Championships with a 2-0 win over top-seed St. Thomas (12-4-1) on Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Field.
Florida Memorial’s Jose Bazterrica scored the game-winning goal in the first minute of the game on a header off a cross by Martin Scapparone. The score remained 1-0 until an own goal by St. Thomas gave the Lions a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes to play in regulation.
Florida Memorial goalkeeper Pablo Terminiello recorded the shutout. St. Thomas had 13 shots on goal, yet only two required saves by Terminiello. St. Thomas goalkeeper Lyle Howe made nine saves and allowed one goal on 11 shots on goal by the Lions.
Florida Memorial beat the odds as the seventh seed defeating the top three seeds of the tournament en route to the conference championship. The championship run began with a win at number two seed SCAD Savannah on Nov. 3 in the tournament quarterfinals. The Lions defeated the Bees on 5-4 on penalty kicks in a game that ended in a 1-1 tie. The Lions moved on to the Sun Conference final four hosted by regular season champion St. Thomas. The eventual champions defeated Embry-Riddle 2-0 on Friday, setting up Saturday’s championship game vs. the top-seeded Bobcats.
With the win, Florida Memorial advances to the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships.
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