Friday, November 13, 2009

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Jonathan Mendoza found the net in the 86th minute to send Stetson past ETSU by a 3-2 score at the Atlantic Sun Men's Soccer Championship and into Sunday's final to face Mercer.

After an attacking play by the Hatters (13-3-2), the Buccaneers (6-9-3) attempted to clear the zone but the ball came out of the 18-yard box and onto the foot of Mendoza. The goal ranked as the third of the season for the freshman forward and could not have come at a better time for the Hatters.

ETSU had peppered the Stetson net in the second half with 15 shots but it took until the 84th minute for the Bucs the net the tying tally. Schoenfeld found the net with a header.

Rain delayed the game more than 24 hours from its original start time of 4:00 p.m. Thursday, but when Stetson and ETSU finally hit the field the two did not disappoint.

Giulio D’Amore found the net in the 10th minute for the Hatters on a shot that deflected off an ETSU defender and into the net past All-Atlantic Sun First-Team selection Scott Rosman. Stetson carried that 1-0 margin for almost 30 minutes until ETSU’s Tony Nunes sent in a cross that found the head of Matt Reed in the 37th minute to even score.

The second goal of the match stepped up the intensity level and in the 42nd minute as an ETSU foul inside the 18-yard box led penalty kick for Stetson. Robert Hodge, the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. He stepped to the spot and fired a shot past a diving Rosman to give the Hatters back their one goal advantage heading into halftime.

The Hatters advance to their third final in five years to take on Mercer – who defeated Campbell in Friday’s first semifinal contest. The final marks the seventh time this decade that either the Hatters or Bears have made the Men’s Soccer Championship title game, but the first time that they will meet for the trophy. They last met in an A-Sun Championship setting in a 2005 semifinal. Stetson defeated Mercer, 3-1, and went on to capture its lone A-Sun Championship.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.