It was his first collegiate penalty kick shootout. And the fate of his team’s season was on the line, resting on his ability to make the winning save.
So how did Ryan Bertoni stay so composed?
“Going in I felt confident,” the sophomore goalkeeper said. “I knew these guys weren’t going to miss. I knew it was only going to take one save.”
And he was right.
Bertoni would have to make only one save in the shootout to propel his Binghamton University men’s soccer team past the Boston Terriers in Wednesday’s America East quarterfinal matchup.
Graham Munro, Barry Neville, Kyle Antos, Ryan Pierce and Peter Sgueglia all connected on their penalty kick attempts, making the Bearcats a perfect five-for-five.
On the other end, Boston’s Zach Bauer was the only player to misfire, as Bertoni just got a piece of his kick in the second round.
“The kid ripped it pretty quickly,” Bertoni said. “I just got my right hand on it fortunately.”
Sgueglia’s winning goal led to an eruption from the crowd, and a huge celebration between the fans and players at West Gym Field.
“It was a moment like no other in my life,” Sgueglia said. “It was crazy, more than words could describe.”
The game was determined by penalty kicks after both teams failed to score in the two sudden-death overtime periods. The score remained knotted at one, with the Bearcats’ lone goal coming from junior forward Joey Neilson at the 24:01 mark.
Neilson’s goal came just in time.
“I had a hole in my cleats before the game, so we taped it up,” Neilson explained, “but the tape was coming off and bothering me, so I was telling Coach I have to come off.”
And then during the next play, he happened to be in the right place for the score.
The Bearcats held the lead until just under 11 minutes remaining in the second half when the Terriers’ Ronald Erlichman got behind the backs down the left side of the field.
Erlichman’s tying goal gave Saturday’s contest a similar feel to last year’s conference championship. Binghamton was up 2-1 in that game with six minutes left before Boston scored the equalizer. Unlike in 2004, the Bearcats won the shootout, extending their season by at least one game.
After the dramatic victory, senior forward Luc Vallone described his team’s post-game locker room celebration.
“There was a lot of banging, a lot of singing and a lot of camaraderie.”
Joey Box:
Aside from scoring the Bearcats’ only goal in the first half, junior forward Joey Neilson was the difference maker in Saturday’s quarterfinals with his energy and hustle.
“I would say Joey Neilson was the best player on the field,” said senior midfielder Danilo. “Every time he got the ball they tried to double him and it didn’t work.”
Neilson had a little extra motivation from the crowd, as his name was chanted repeatedly during the game. Also, nine friends had the words “Sloppy Joe” written across their chests.
But Neilson also attributed his play to the fact that it could have been his team’s final game of the season.
“I didn’t want to come off the field knowing I didn’t give it everything I had,” he said. “When you’re not sweaty, and not dirty, it’s the worst feeling knowing you didn’t give it your all.”