Video Recap at Bottom of Page
NEWARK, Del. - - For the third season in a row and fifth time in its NCAA era, the Wilmington University men's soccer team claimed at least a share of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Regular Season Championship defeating Chestnut Hill, 3-0, in the regular season finale on Tuesday at the WU Athletics Complex.
With the win, the 14th ranked Wildcats captured 27 points in the CACC, finishing the regular season at 15-2-1 overall and 9-2 in CACC play. Post has one game remaining and can tie the Wildcats in first with 27 points and a share of the CACC Regular Season Championship, but would take the No. 1 seed in the CACC Tournament with their head-to-head tiebreaker over the Wildcats.
The win also cements a home game in the upcoming CACC Tournament for the Wildcats, with its opponent to be determine with Post and Felician playing on Thursday. The Wildcats will begin postseason play on Monday, November 8 at the WU Athletics Complex with a 2:00 p.m. first whistle.
On Tuesday, the cold and wet playing conditions had the Wildcats off to a slow start. Despite getting a number of shots off in the opening frame, the Wildcats didn't create many chances or put many attempts on frame.
But they were still able to scratch and claw their way to a halftime lead, forcing one into the back of the net in the 38th minute. Richard Thompson played a ball into the box from the right side, finding Pol Romero on the back post. His deflection stayed out of the net, but Gabriel Marin just barely beat the Griffin goalkeeper to the ball on the line, slamming it home for the 1-0 lead.
Hakim Williams put the finishing touches on the Griffins in a two-minute span in the second half, scoring back-to-back goals to send the Wildcats to the 3-0 victory.
Shoki Yoshida lifted a ball over the back line in the 69th minute, landing it softly in front of Williams in the box. His one-time shot beat the keeper for the 2-0 lead.
Two-minutes later, the defensive pressure of Shawn Genus and Hakim Williams forced the Griffin netminder into a turnover, as he stole a pass and went high over the keeper for this eighth goal of the year and the 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats outshot the Griffins, 31-2, in the match, including 17-0 in the second half. Mahmoud Mahmoud made nine saves for the Griffins.
The Wildcats will determine their first postseason opponent with the conclusion of the Post/Felician matchup on Thursday.
