Falcons Fall to Amherst in NCAA DIII Opening Round, 2-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (11-11) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Amherst (14-1-4) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
CANTON, NY – Fitchburg State University (11-11) saw their 2014 season come to a close, falling to Amherst College (14-1-4), 2-0, in the opening round of the NCAA DIII Championships on Saturday afternoon at Macallaster Field on the campus of St. Lawrence University.
Freshman forward Aziz Khan netted both goals for the Lord Jeffs in the winning effort, which advances Amherst to the second round where they will take on host St. Lawrence tomorrow at 1:00pm.
Senior Aidan Hanratty was superb in net despite the two goals, registering 13 saves in the final game of his noteworthy career in the Green & Gold.
Holding the possession advantage for the majority of the first half, the Lord Jeffs tallied their first goal at 15:10 as freshman Keiran Bellow found classmate Khan inside the box and beating Hanratty to the left side.
Khan would find the back of the net again at the 36:51 mark of the opening stanza on a play from a corner kick. Junior Forest Sisk took the corner and passed it along to junior Tommy Haskel, who found Khan for the heading goal to increase their lead to 2-0.
Despite holding the possession advantage in the second half, the Lord Jeffs defense held the Falcons to no shots. Fitchburg State had two corner kick opportunities but were unable to convert.
Amherst held a 32-2 (17-1 on net) advantage in shots, while holding a 12-2 edge in corner kicks.
For Simon Vikoler, Brett Smith, Calvin La Rose, and Hanratty it marks the end of their careers at Fitchburg State. They will be forever etched in the programs history for winning the first MASCAC Tournament Championship, and third trip to the NCAA Tournament.