Men’s Soccer Defeats Westminster in First Round of ECAC South Tourney

Stats

Nov. 8 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Following an 11-5 regular season, the Carnegie Mellon men’s soccer team qualified for the 2006 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men’s South Soccer Championships. They earned the number two seed in the eight team tournament and squared off against number seven seed Westminster College on Wednesday, November 8 at Gesling Stadium. Carnegie Mellon used a strong start to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals. The Tartans improve their record to 12-5 while the Titans finish the season 12-7-2.

Senior forward Andrew Park (Boise, Idaho) netted the Tartan’s first goal in the 17th minute when he collected the ball outside the 18-yard box and blasted it past Westminster goalkeeper Anthony Beilstein. Senior Jonathan Browne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) collected two goals of his own late in the first half to finish off the scoring for Carnegie Mellon.

Browne’s first goal came in the 38th minute when he stopped a forward pass from senior midfielder Sean Filipovitz (Cleveland, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) five yards away from the net. Browne turned, and booted the ball into the net to give the Tartans a two goal advantage. Browne’s second goal of the game came with only two seconds left in the first half. He received a long pass from brother, freshman, Ryan Browne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) and headed the ball just inside the right post.

In the second half neither team was able to net any goals, although Carnegie Mellon freshman midfielder Ricky Griffin’s (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.) shot hit the crossbar in the 70th minute. Carnegie Mellon sophomore goalkeeper Matthew Bazin (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Delbarton) and senior goalie Robert Vargo (West Mifflin, Pa.) combined on the shutout with Bazin making four saves and Vargo stopping one shot. Beilstein made two saves in the loss.

The Tartans advance to play the winner of the game between third seeded Penn State Altoona and sixth seeded Alvernia. The Tartans will host the ECAC semifinals this Saturday, November 11 at Gesling Stadium. Carnegie Mellon will also host the ECAC South Championship game on Sunday, November 12.