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West Long Branch, NJ - Goals from #8 Monmouth’s Hermann Trophy Award Watch list duo lifted the top-seeded Hawks to the 2009 Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Soccer Tournament title for the first time since 2006. MU improved to a program-best 18-1-1 overall mark with the 2-1 victory while Quinnipiac finished its season 9-4-7.

Junior Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) and classmate Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck) scored less than three minutes apart to give MU a 2-0 lead early in the second stanza. Quinnipiac cut the lead in half at the 60:37 mark by virtue of a tally from senior defender Shane Recklet (Shelton, CT/Shelton), but the Bobcats couldn’t find the equalizer as the Hawks went on to win their third-ever tournament crown.

Both squads had scoring opportunities early into play, the first of which came from MU when Ryan Clark (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township) collected a pass in the center of the box, but the QU back line was there to break up the attack. Minutes later it was QU’s turn when Bobcat junior forward Nick Pelicaen (Scoten, Belgium) made a hard run down the left side to get past the Hawk defense. Junior goalkeeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) rushed off his line to smother the play, but Pelicaen was able to send a ball across the box, which made it’s way past the open net untouched.

With 11 minutes left in the first stanza, MU sophomore defender and Tournament Most Valuable Player RJ Allen (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) lofted a free kick service that found the head of Clark, who nodded it far post forcing Bobcat senior all-league netminder Frederick Hall (St. George, Bermuda) to lay out to make the save and keep the scoreboard clear. Minutes later another Hawk free kick opportunity found the foot of Barbieri, who chipped a one-touch shot on target, but Hall got a finger on it to tip the ball up and over the crossbar.

The Bobcats came out of the intermission applying pressure on the nationally-ranked Hawk defensive unit, but the first score of the game from Barbieri in the 51st minute took the wind out of their sails. Clark lofted a cross from the left side that was all Barbieri’s as he nodded his sixth tally of the season into the upper corner. With momentum on their side, the Hawks struck again in the 54th minute after they were awarded a free kick opportunity. In much the same fashion as the first score, Allen lifted a cross into the box where Kinne was waiting to send a header into the far upper corner. Kinne’s marker was the team-leading 10th of the season for the 2009 NEC Player of the Year, while Allen’s assist was his eighth to tie for first in the league.

QU responded at the 60:37 mark to cut its deficit to one when Recklet deposited a shot after a scrum in front of the net. Sophomore defender Conor Murphy (Wallingford, CT/Xavier) was credited with the assist.

With tensions mounting and time winding down, the Bobcats applied last minute pressure in search of the tying score. With 13 minutes remaining in regulation, junior all-NEC defender Pierre Soubrier (Aurginac, France) released a low laser that missed the net wide right. Soubrier was at it again with under 10 minutes to go when he took a free kick from just outside the box that he bent up and around the wall, but the strike landed on top of the netting.

Hall finished with four saves in the contest as Meredith made four stops of his own to record the victory.

The Blue and White continues its landmark season as MU prepares to compete in the 2009 NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup with first round action on November 19. The Hawks will find out their opponent on Monday, Nov. 16 between 5:30 and 6:00 on ESPNews.

 

2009 NEC All-Tournament Team
RJ Allen(Tournament MVP) MU   So. D  Old Bridge, NJ/St. Joseph’s
Cody Calafiore           MU   Fr. MF Howell, NJ/Howell
Daniel Bostock           MU   Sr. D  Nottinghamshire, England
Ryan Kinne               MU   Jr. F  Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck
Frederick Hall           QU   Sr. GK St. George, Bermuda
Shane Recklet            QU   Sr. D  Shelton, CT/Shelton
Pierre Soubrier          QU   Jr. D  Aurignac, France
Semso Nikocevic          SFNY Sr. MF Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay
John Sallhag             SFNY Jr. F  Vaxjo, Sweden
Paul King                FDU  So. MF New Castle, England
Majdi Zaineh             FDU  Jr. GK Clifton, NJ/Clifton