Nov. 15: After erasing a one-goal deficit thanks to a Manny Collins tally in the 79^th minute, forcing overtime and battling to a 1-1 draw, the No. 9 St. Lawrence men's soccer team was dealt a crushing defeat in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as No. 13 Amherst edged the Saints 3-2 in a shootout.

The Saints finished their 2014 campaign with a 17-2-2 overall record, while the Lord Jeffs will continue on to the Sweet 16 at 14-1-5.

"It's disappointing for it to end that way; in a shootout," Head Coach Bob Durocher said. "We definitely had opportunities late in the second half and in both overtimes that could have won it for us, but we just didn't finish."

Amherst controlled the play early for much of the opening ten minutes, forcing senior goalkeeper Aaron Costello to make two of his six total saves in that time span. While the Saints finished with an overwhelming 27-11 shot advantage in the game, while also earning nine corner kicks to Amherst's one, the Jeffs held the edge in shots on goal 7-5.

With things still even at 0-0, the Amherst back line made a huge defensive save on junior midfielder Seyefe Brouk after a Mark Provost corner kick to hold at 0-0 in the 53^rd minute.

In the 69^th minute, junior back Harry Copeland was whistled for a foul deep in the Saints defensive zone along the right touch line to set up a free kick opportunity for the Jeffs. Nico Pasqual-Leone played the ball into the box for Cameron Bean, whose initial shot was saved by Costello, but Bean eventually fired home the rebound to give Amherst a 1-0 lead.

But the Saints corps responded after the goal and needed less than 10 minutes to manufacture one of their own. 

Junior outside back Ross Suitor won a throw in for the Saints below the team's bench and sent a long throw into the box for Harry Copeland; who had moved into a forward
position just minutes earlier to help generate offense for St. Lawrence on plays deep in the Amherst end.

Copeland flicked Roney's throw toward goal where Manny Collins was waiting on the six to redirect the ball behind the Jeffs' starting keeping Thomas Bull to pull the Saints even at 1-1.

Amherst's Bubba Van wie was ejected from the game in the 95^th minute after receiving his second yellow card of the match, leaving the Jeffs a man down for the remainder
of the game.

The Saints outshot the visitor's 10-3 through the extra periods, and it looked as though they had sprung Jamal Samaroo on a breakaway in the final seconds of the second overtime but the senior forward was ruled offside and the play was blown dead to send things to the shootout.

Both teams made a change in goalkeeping personnel for the shootout, as Lee Owen stepped in for the Jeffs and Ryan Roethel made his second appearance of the weekend for St. Lawrence.

Owen was outstanding for Amherst, making saves on the first two St. Lawrence attempts by Provost and Rob Brandell, while also stopping Copeland as the Saints fourth shooter. Jeremiah Bunton and Dan Hunt were the only Saints to convert their penalty kick opportunities.

Thomas Bull, Gabriel Wirz and Kieran Bellew were the scorers in the shootout for Amherst. After Hunt – the fifth shooter for St. Lawrence – converted his attempt to keep the Saints hopes alive, Bellew stepped to the line and drilled a shot home to end the game and help the Jeffs advance to the Sweet 16.

The six members of the Class of 2015 - Jamal Samaroo, Mark Provost, Jeremiah Bunton, Austin Roney, Sars Bowman and Aaron Costello -  played their final collegiate game on Sunday afternoon and finish their careers having amassed a record of 66-9-8, winning three Liberty League regular season titles and two conference tournament championships, while also advancing to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons.