November 6, 2006

Grant Morrison converted this penalty kick to send the Statesmen into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on penalty kicks (5-3), after playing Elizabethtown College to a scoreless double-overtime tie in NCAA Tournament first round action this afternoon. The Statesmen are now 12-3-3 overall, while Elizabethtown closes out its season with an 11-5-3 mark.

This just the second time in Hobart soccer history that the Statesmen have earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, and the first time that Hobart has advanced to the second round.

In a battle of two evenly-matched teams, the Blue Jays had the slight edge, out-shooting the Statesmen 18-16, and tallying five shots on goal to the Statesmen’s three.

Both teams had great scoring opportunities throughout the game. Hobart senior Matt Foley (Avon Old Farms/Maple Glen, Pa.) had an uncontested shot in the first overtime period that hit off the post, narrowly missing the goal. Likewise, in the final minute of the second overtime, Blue Jay Brennan Reichenbach (Selinsgrove Area/Selinsgrove, Pa.) booted a solid shot from the top of the box that was saved by Statesmen goalkeeper Pete Van Dellon (Webster Thomas/Webster, N.Y.).

In the shootout, first-year Statesman Grant Morrison (Gleniffer/Paisley, Scotland) netted the penalty kick that ensured Hobart’s advancement. Junior Tyler Webster (Acton-Boxboro/Acton, Mass.) started the Statesmen off right, connecting on the first shot, while senior captain Jamie Smith (Cheshire/Cheshire, Conn.) followed with a good kick of his own. First-years Matt Geswell (Carmel/Patterson, N.Y.) and Sam Wisner (Wayland/Wayland, Mass.) made sure the third and fourth Statesmen kicks found the back of the net, allowing Morrison to step in and clinch it.

Sophomore Bryan Holt (Lower Dauphin/Hershey, Pa.), and seniors Owen Friedrich (Haddon Township/Westmont, N.J.) and James Runyon (Hoptacong/Hoptacong, N.J.), all netted penalty kicks for the Blue Jays.

Sophomore Van Dellon finished with four saves for Hobart en route to his seventh shutout of the season, while senior A.J. Fleisher (Kutztown Area/Kutztown, Pa.) stopped three shots for Elizabethtown.

The 14th-ranked Statesmen will travel to York (Pa.) to take on the second-ranked Spartans (19-0-2) on Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $6 general admission, $3 for seniors and students with proper ID, and $2 for students ages 3-12. Children two and under are free.