Virginia Beach, VA- Penn State Brandywine Men's Soccer claimed their second USCAA National Championship on Monday night at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, defeating Five Towns College 3-0. The Nittany Lions finished the tournament with 11 goals and a 3-0 record.
Penn State Brandywine entered the tournament as the three seed, finishing the regular season with an impressive 16-3-3 record. The Lions played number two seed, Berkeley College - NJ in their first game of the tournament that would ultimately decide a berth in the National Championship, Brandywine displayed one of their most aggressive matches all season in an intense match that would ultimately favor Brandywine in 3-2 victory; goals coming from freshman Ethan Pace, junior midfielder Axel Ayllon-Ortiz, and sophomore forward, Alex Sydor. They crusied the following day agaisnt conference foe PSU New Kensington, as freshman midfielder, Josh Land, scored two goals en route to a 5-0 victory.
Head coach, Tom Greenawalt, led his team to another berth in the National Title game after capturing the school's first championship in 2018. The Lions squared off against top seeded Five Towns College and took control early on after a goal from sophomore midfielder, Christian Zaval, in the 3rd minute. Brandywine kept their foot on the gas, but did not let the heat of the moment take away from their focus and composure as the game transpired. The difference maker this night was Ethan Pace, who sprinted past a defender for his first goal in the 70th minute on an assist from Axel Ayllon-Ortiz. Pace got behind FTC's back line once again in the 80th minute to putthe game away fo the Lions. Goalkeeper, John Simpson, posted his second shutout of the tournament and Penn State Brandywine proved they were most deserving of the DI National Championship once again.
All Tournament Team
Mishael Garcia | Forward | Penn State Beaver
Mohmed Matan | Midfielder | Central Maine Community College
Salaimon Sarwari | Defense | Berkeley College - NJ
Andre Hickling | Midfielder | Five Towns College
Anthony Campos | Midfielder | Five Towns College
Joel Funez | Forward | Five Towns College
Christian Zavala | Midfielder | Penn State Brandywine
Joey Cairy | Midfielder | Penn State Brandywine
Josh Land | Midfielder | Penn State Brandywine
Alex Sydor | Forward | Penn State Brandywine
John Simpson | Goalkeeper | Penn State Brandywine
Tournament MVP
Ethan Pace | Forward | Penn State Brandywine
Player of the Year
Steven Paguada | Five Towns College
Coach of the Year
Jason Fiscina | Five Towns College
Student-Athlete of the Year
Klae Nicholson | Berekley College