Farmingdale State - 0, The Sage Colleges - 0 (2OT, 6-5 PK's)
Albany, N.Y. - The #5 seed Farmingdale State men's soccer team knocked off top-seeded Sage College today in a 0-0 double overtime tie that went to penalty kicks in the Skyline Conference Semifinals. The Rams won 6-5 in the penalty kick shootout to improve to 9-6-4 overall, while the Gators fell to 10-4-4 overall.
In the first half, Sage held a 6-1 advantage in shots while senior goalkeeper Angelo Viteritti (Huntington, N.Y.) made two saves to keep the action scoreless. The second half saw Sage hold a 3-2 edge in shots and the Rams edging the Gators on corners 5-3.
The two overtime periods were controlled by Sage with a 5-1 shot advantage, and after 110 minutes of scoreless action the teams would need a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner.
The score was knotted at 3-3 after the first five players went for each team, with goals by junior defender Vincent Danetti (Wantagh, N.Y.), goalkeeper Angelo Viteritti and senior midfielder Matt Kirby (West Islip, N.Y.).
In the sudden victory stage of the shootout, sophomore midfielder Alexis Escobar (Hicksville, N.Y.) scored to put the Rams up 4-3...before Sage's freshman Alex Lanza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) tied it 4-4.
Sophomore midfielder Diego Sarmiento (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) scored to put Farmingdale State up 5-4, but Sage tied it again with a goal by sophomore Sean Lanza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).
The eventual game-deciding penalty kick would come from sophomore midfielder Victor Romero (Bay Shore, N.Y.), as he put the Rams up 6-5 and the final Sage chance saw Viteritti making the game-deciding save to send his team to the first Skyline Conference Championship game since 2008.
Viteritti made nine saves in the win, while sophomore goalkeeper TJ Zehner (Beacon, N.Y.) did not make a save in defeat.
The Rams will play in the Title game against #2 Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday, November 9th at 3:30 p.m. for a chance at their first-ever Skyline Championship and an automatic bid into the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
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