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Quaranta Sends Wilmington to the Men’s Soccer CACC Tournament as Wildcats Defeat Caldwell, 1-0, in Conference Finale

CALDWELL, N.J. - - Another solid set play piece off a corner attempt led to the lone Wilmington University men's soccer goal, as Tommy Quaranta buried the goal and Caldwell, 1-0, in another pivotal Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match on Sunday afternoon at Caldwell Field.

Playing a game that was originally scheduled for Saturday but pushed back to Sunday due to rain showers, the Wildcats (10-7, 6-5 CACC) ran its current win streak to four straight, having now won eight of its last nine matches overall. The run has also included a 5-1 mark in the CACC.

Finished with its CACC schedule, Wilmington now has 18 points overall and sits in a tie for third place with Philadelphia. Caldwell (6-8-1, 5-4 CACC) sits directly behind the Wildcats with 15 points, but has two conference matches remaining on the year.

Nyack and Bloomfield, 14 points each, also have two matches remaining but are currently the sixth and seventh teams in the standings. Holy Family is in eighth place with one match to play; carrying 13 points, meaning the Wildcats clinched a playoff spot with the victory on Sunday with its seed yet to be determined.

After a scoreless first half which saw the Cougars outshoot the Wildcats, 7-5, Wilmington turned that stat sheet around and came out in the second half with a 7-4 shot advantage. Wilmington also took four corners in the second half, totaling seven on the afternoon to Caldwell's four.

But it was one corner in particular that changed the outcome of the match, as senior assists leader Kresimir Nurnberger was at it again on the set play. Nurnberger's corner went up and off the crossbar, falling right to the feet of Tommy Quaranta who buried it with 13:12 remaining in the contest. The goal was Quaranta's fourth of the season.

Chad Jenkins made two saves in goal for the Wildcats, preserving his first shutout as a Wildcat and moving to 3-5 on the season. Cougar goalkeeper Michael Hartmann made four saves in the loss.

Otis Williams led the Wildcats with five shots, three of which found the frame. Lance Berry and Quaranta each recorded a shot on goal, rounding out the Wildcats opportunities.

While waiting for their CACC Tournament seeding, the Wildcats will look to continue their hot streak with its final game of the regular season on Wednesday against non-conference opponent Queens (N.Y.). The team will recognize its five seniors prior to the match which starts at 3:30 p.m. at the WU Athletics Center.