Dan Dwyer (Hamden, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal as the Albertus Magnus men's soccer team defeated Emerson College 1-0 to advance to the 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Championship game set for Saturday.
With a 2-1 upset victory over top-seeded Lasell, fourth-seeded Norwich University will face the Falcons on Saturday in the tournament final. The Falcons will host the contest at Celentano Field at 1:00 p.m.
After shutting out Suffolk University 2-0 on Saturday in the tournament's quarterfinal round, Albertus picked up where it left off as the Falcons limited Emerson to just two shots on net to keep the Lions off the scoreboard. With another stellar defensive effort, the Falcons' recorded their 10th shutout of the season.
Today's victory gives the Falcons its second win against the Lions in 2012.
Exactly five minutes after coming off the bench for the Falcons, Dwyer cut through the 18-yard box to finish on a pass from senior James Lucchesi (Norwalk, Conn.), giving Albertus a 1-0 lead. For Dwyer, it was his third goal of the year, while Lucchesi earned his fifth assist on the year and his second in the last two contests.
Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) led the Falcons with five shots on the afternoon, including two on goal.
Albertus keeper Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) made two saves in net as he picked up his 15th win of the season and his ninth shutout of the year. Emerson's Carter Bowers made eight stops in net for the Lions and allowed one goal in 90 minutes of work.
With the victory, Albertus improves to 15-3-2 on the year, while Emerson finishes its season at 10-8-0. The Falcons now advance to the Championship game of the GNAC Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons. In their previous meeting in 2012, the Falcons and Cadets battled to a scoreless tie in double-overtime.
