Men's Soccer Outlasts Saint Louis In Penalty Kicks, 2-2 (4-3)

SAINT LOUIS, Mo.- The University of Massachusetts men's soccer team pulled off the upset over the second-seeded Saint Louis Billikens on Saturday night. The Minutemen won in penalty kicks 4-3 to move on to the Atlantic 10 Semifinals where they will play the top-seeded VCU Rams.

To open up the game, Alec Hughes had a chance to put the Minutemen on top with a breakaway in the 7th minute. Pierre de la Croix-Vaubois headed away a Saint Louis cross where Hughes controlled the ball and took it up the field with just the keeper to beat. Hughes took a long touch and keeper Jeremi Abonnel came out and covered the ball to keep the game scoreless.

The Billikens had a chance of their own in the 28th minute when Saint Louis forward Matthew Wrobel got behind the UMass defense. As a pass was getting to Wrobel's foot, Brad Moccio recovered with a slide tackle and forced a Saint Louis corner.

The majority of the first half was a defensive battle as both teams recorded just two shots each with a shot on goal. The Billikens held the advantage in corner kicks 3-0 after 45 minutes of play.

Coming out of the break, UMass got on the board just three minutes into the half. Shane Velez fed a perfect ball up the pitch to Hughes, who evaded the Saint Louis goalkeeper and scored to put the Minutemen up in the 48th minute.

Saint Louis wouldn't take long to respond as Mads Stistrup Petersen tied the game at one apiece in the 56th minute. Stistrup Petersen and the Billikens nearly scored a second three minutes later but his shot went just wide.

However, Stistrup Petersen would capitalize on his next chance as he gave Saint Louis the lead in the 66th minute. A minute later, Pierre de la Croix-Vaubois saved a goal after a Matthew Wrobel header got behind Zambetti. De la Croix-Vaubois kicked it away at the last second to keep Saint Louis from extending their lead.

Although Saint Louis seemed to have all the momentum, the UMass attack stayed persistent and Nick Zielonka tied the game in the 75th minute. Anthony Catanzaro controlled a ball just outside the 18-yard box and found a cutting Zielonka. With a low angle, Zielonka placed his shot to the far bottom left corner to knot the game at two apiece.

In the 86th minute, Saint Louis almost took the lead on a Brogan Townsend shot. But thanks to Aaron O'Malley's efforts, he was able to clear the ball before Townsend's shot could fully crossed the line.

Regulation would end with Saint Louis holding an 11-5 shot advantage while putting five on goal and the Minutemen putting four on target. The Billikens also built up a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first 90 minutes.

In the two overtime periods, UMass didn't record a shot on goal while Zambetti made a pair of routine saves. Tied at 2-2 after 110 minutes of play, the teams went to penalty kicks.

In the first round, Hughes stepped up and buried it while Zambetti denied Kevin Komodi. In the Second round, both Michael Rojas and Jeremi Abonnel were successful while Zielonka and Diego Koninks made theirs in the third. The fourth round saw the first Minuteman miss as Aidan Kelly was denied. Christian Buendia scored on his attempt and UMass and Saint Louis were tied 3-3. After a fifth round where both teams were unsuccessful, Andrew Ortiz gave UMass the lead in the sixth. Needing a save to win, Zambetti dove left and turned aside Matthew Wrobel to push UMass to the semifinals.

In the contest, Saint Louis finished with a 13-0 advantage in corners and total shots were 14-6 in favor of the Billikens. Zambetti finished the contest with four saves while adding two critical ones in the penalty kicks. Alec Hughes and Nick Zielonka led the offense with a pair of goals.

With the win, UMass will head to Richmond on Wednesday to take on #1 VCU at 7 p.m. VCU moved on to the semifinals after defeating #8 Fordham 1-0 on Friday night.

For complete coverage of the UMass men's soccer team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @UMassMSoccer and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

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