Men's Soccer End Season in Pool Play at the USCAA Tournament

The Mighty Oaks men's soccer team ended its season as a No. 8 seed in the USCAA tournament. The team had one loss and one win at nationals and did not advance out of pool play.

The team headed to the national tournament after winning the HVIAC conference tournament and amassing a 10-4-1 record. In their first game in pool play, the Mighty Oaks faced a big challenge from the No. 1 seed and defending national champions, University of Maine - Fort Kent. The Bengals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half after two goals by senior Ben Kluvers. At the start of the second half, the Bengals continued the onslaught, scoring three goals in a three-minute span, pushing the score up to 5-0. Senior Zack Reda scored ESF's lone goal at the 71st minute. The final score was 7-1.

The defeat meant the team would not advance out of pool play but the team laced up to face St. Joseph's College of Vermont in the final game of the season. St. Joseph's came in as the No. 11 seed with a 12-6 overall record. The opening half was scoreless; ESF had several shots on goal but could not find the back of the net. Junior Rosyvelt Baessa broke the scoring drought with a goal for the Saints at the 60th minute mark. ESF countered less than a minute later when junior JC Barrientos locked in a goal to even up the score 1-1. Possession was balanced for most of the second half as the game went into overtime. Neither team scored in the first overtime. At the 101st minute of the second overtime, Barrientos caught a pass from freshman Joseph Kulikowski and blasted it past the Saints' keeper, giving ESF the win to end its season.

"This team played with incredible heart and passion all this season. With the odds against them on many occasions, this team never game up and always fought until the very end," said Ramin, the head coach.