The Dominican University men's soccer team cruised to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks in the Stars' regular season finale on Wednesday afternoon at West Campus Field. With the win, the Stars secured the number three seed in the 2018 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's soccer tournament, finishing the regular season with an 11-5-1 overall mark and 8-3-0 record in league play.
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"That was a nice shutout win and finish to the regular season," said Erick Baumann, the Stars' 24
th-year head coach.
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The Stars were dominant in the first half, opening a 3-0 lead before the break before playing with the lead in the second half and spending a little more time staying compact and defending. In the end, Dominican finished with a 23-10 advantage in shots, putting 12 on goal while allowing just three on frame, all saved by freshman goalkeeper
Daniel Dominguez who picked up his fifth shutout of the season.
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Dominican opened the scoring in the 24
th minute when
Isaac Perez forced a turnover inside of midfield before connecting with
Denis Soldo near the top of the 18-yard box. Soldo took two touches to his right before ripping a shot back to the left post that beat Anastasios Manolis on the ground.
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The Stars added two more over the next ten minutes, as
Josh Prindle netted his fourth goal of the season in the 31
st minute before
Jonathan Hernandez notched his seventh goal of the season in the 33
rd minute.
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Dominican managed an insurance goal in the 79
th minute when
Giacomo Parrino played a ball over the top for Soldo making a run to the top of the box. Soldo was able to settle the ball down with his chest to his feet before stopping to create some space for a shot to an open goal with Manolis charging off his line towards Soldo. The score was the sixth of the season for the junior.
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Dominican will enjoy a couple of days of training before opening NACC Tournament play on Sunday with the sixth-seeded Edgewood College Eagles coming down to Dominican for a noon kickoff. The winner advances to the NACC Tournament semifinals.