FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Knights and Redhawks played to a 1-1 draw before No. 2 Roberts Wesleyan edged No. 1 Queens in the penalty shootout, 4-3, to claim the program's first-ever ECC Men's Soccer Championship at Varsity Field in Flushing, N.Y. on Saturday evening. Appearing in its first-ever ECC Men's Soccer Championship Final, RWU (10-2-7, 4-1-3 ECC) earns the conference's AQ and punches its ticket to the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.
BOX SCORE
After making 15 saves vs. one goal allowed in 218:31 of postseason play, Roberts Wesleyan senior goalkeeper Eric Jewson was tabbed the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Jewson finished with six saves on Saturday evening.
An early miss in the five-round penalty shootout gave the Redhawks an advantage, and Cooper Kerridge buried his shot into the left side of the goal to send Roberts Wesleyan into its postgame celebrations.
All-ECC First Team back Takumi Horan, All-ECC Third Team back Luke Hanes, and Iann Briones scored PKs for RWU, and after QC's fifth Knight in the order rattled a shot off the goal post, Kerridge closed the contest.
"I am so proud of these guys," said Roberts Wesleyan head coach Scott Reber. "They have worked so hard this year. We knew we were going against a tough team in Queens, and the guys really stepped up to the challenge tonight."
Roberts Wesleyan struck first in regulation when Mustafa Alshadeedi got taken down in the box, setting up a penalty kick opportunity for the visitors at the 43:03 mark. All-ECC Second Team midfielder Jack Hopson forced ECC Goalkeeper of the Year Thanasis Shehadeh to his right and buried the PK to give the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
After an extended halftime break due to lightning strikes in the area, Queens equalized on a blast from
All-ECC Second Team back Cillian Heaney (55').
At the end of regulation, Queens (13-3-4, 6-0-2 ECC) held extreme advantages in shots, 23-6, and corner kicks, 16-6. The Knights put forth a pair of near-show stopping shots in the first half as All-ECC Second Team forward Harry Cooke fired one off the crossbar in the 16th minute and All-ECC Third Team back Carlos Villa hit the post in the 33rd minute.
Two of Jewson's six saves on the night came late in the second half as the RWU goalkeeper stopped shots from Tommy Gunn (83') and ECC Rookie of the Year Bradyn Brown (88') to force overtime.
The first overtime saw two solid chances, with Jewson saving Villa's shot in the 93rd minute and Shehadeh rejecting Sebastian Guerrero's shot in the 94th minute.
QC's Jason Udo nearly put the game away with his shot 11 seconds into the second overtime, but it just missed, wide left. Shehadeh made his fifth save of the night on another Hopson strike in the 110th minute to force the penalty shootout.
Roberts Wesleyan, who joined the ECC in 2012, will now await its opening opponent for the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for 7:00 PM this Monday, November 17 on NCAA.com. First Round games begin on Friday, November 21.