Nov. 5: Sophomore midfielder Rob Brandell lifted the top-seeded St. Lawrence men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Hobart in a thrilling double-overtime Liberty League semifinal match on Sandy MacAllaster Field Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the No. 11 Saints will host the Liberty League championship on Saturday, Nov. 8 against either RPI or Vassar.

 "We expected Hobart to be a challenge this time around; they've been on a run and made a few changes in personnel that helped them down the stretch in the regular season," Head Coach Bob Durocher said.  "I don't know that we expected to go that deep into overtime, but I'm happy we were finally able to finish a chance. Rob had three or four point-blank opportunities today, so I'm really pleased he was able to come through and win it for us."

Brandell had arguably the Saints best chance of the day in the opening seconds of the first overtime session with an open look from the corner of the six and was stopped by Hobart goalkeeper Tyler Serafine.

But in the 106^th minute, there was no stopping the Glen Ridge, N.J. native after senior captain Mark Provost hit a through ball that sprung Brandell between a pair of Statesmen defenders. With only Serafine to beat, he settled and touched the ball around the charging goalkeeper for an open look and easy finish to win the game and send the Saints to their second Liberty League championship in as many seasons.

The goal is Brandell's seventh of the season, tying him with junior back Harry Copeland for the team lead, and bringing his point total to 18.

For Provost, the assist is his sixth of the year. Both Provost and junior Seyefe Brouk recorded a game-high four shots in the contest.

Defensively, the Saints back line of Copeland, Christian Yarros, Austin Roney and Dan Hunt was solid as a unit, working to pull Hobart offside eight times in the contest, spoiling Nick Dosky's attempts to get in behind to create one-on-one opportunities on St. Lawrence keeper Sean Houston.

Houston finished with two saves for the Saints, both coming in the first half on shots from distance, while Serafine made eight stops for Hobart.

St. Lawrence finished with a 24-4 edge in total shots, a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal and 10-3 edge in corner kicks on the afternoon.

"It was a good team effort," Durocher said. "We were able to go deep into the bench and our subs gave us a great lift, but even the guys who maybe didn't play as many minutes or didn't make it in today were vocal on the sideline and rallied behind the guys on the field. That kind of support is huge in games like this."