LISLE, Ill. - The Edgewood College men's soccer team played some of its best soccer of the season in the first 15 minutes of Sunday's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament first-round match against No. 3 Benedictine University but then hit a wall offensively and were eventually shut out to end the 2014 season.
Edgewood College started the first-round match by pounding out four shots in the first 14 minutes but none were on target. Edgewood College's defense was flawless in that same time frame, as they held Benedictine to zero shots in the first 15 minutes, 35 seconds. Benedictine would then rattle off 11 shots between that point and halftime, two of which found the back of the net.
The first goal for Benedictine came in the 28th minute, when Nick Kapetanos and Edgar Reyes assisted on an Ante Markotic goal. It was Markotic's 12th goal of the season. The second came in the closing seconds of the first half, when Francisco Delgado buried the tally after a scramble in front of the net following a cross. That would be the final shot that senior goalkeeper Matt Dammen would face, as Kyle Wood relieved Dammen to begin the second half.
The Eagles managed eight shots in the half but only one was on target. Thini Messan recorded the shot on target in the 27th minute, but Benedictine's Steve Mack would be there for the save. The Eagles were plagued by five offsides in the game and failed to string together many scoring opportunities.
Benedictine wasted no time to start the second and went up 3-0 after Bobby Kostadinov scored an unassisted goal in just the third minute of the second frame. Benedictine would round up their scoring in the 62nd minute on an Edgar Reyes one-timer at the top of the box that caught Wood off guard. The Eagles would then make one final push and had three of their four shots on goal come within the final 10 minutes.
Dammen wound up with five saves in the effort and suffered the loss while Wood stopped a pair of shots. Mack recorded the shutout and had four saves.Â
Edgewood College concludes the 2014 season with an overall record of 9-9-1. Benedictine (11-6-2) advances to play No. 2 seed MSOE at 6 pm Wednesday, Nov. 5.
