River Forest, Ill.- The Dominican University men's soccer team hosted Illinois Tech on Saturday in the NACC quarterfinals.
Results:
IIT: 1
DU: 6
How it Happened:
-Dominican was ready to go right from the kickoff and dominated every aspect of the match.
-Junior John Cronnolly got the scoring started in the 7th minute with a breakaway goal set up by a long pass from sophomore goalkeeper Oscar Cerritos.
-Cronnolly would add a second first-half goal just 13 minutes later to open up a 2-0 lead. The second goal was set up by a great pass from fifth-year Vicente Castro.
-A deep strike from IIT in the 38th minute would bring the Scarlet Hawks back within a goal disadvantage.
-DU regained their two-goal lead in the the 41st minute when junior Zachary Gamster powered in a header to give the Stars a 3-1 halftime lead.
-Dominican picked up right where they left off in the second half when Castro was served a perfect assist from junior Oscar Montejano to give DU a 4-1 lead in the 55th minute.
-Cronnolly would then record his first hat-trick of the season in the 61st minute to give DU a 5-1 lead. That goal was a once again perfectly set up by Montejano.
-DU capped off a terrific offensive performance in the 81st minute as Gamster scored another header off a corner from sophomore Lewis McPherson.
Shining Stars:
-Cronnolly's speed and skill were too much for the Scarlet Hawks and his hat-trick led Dominican to victory.
-Oscar Montejano took on the role of the main distributor and had 3 assists.
-Gamster had a terrific offensive performance with his first two goals in the season coming right at the perfect time in the postseason.
Leading the Way:
Goals: Cronnolly (3)
Assists: O. Montejano (3)
Shots: Cronnolly (9)
SOG: Cronnolly (5)
Saves: Cerritos (3)
Minutes: Ibarra-Rodriguez, Alic, and Gutierrez (81)
What's Next:
Dominican University men's soccer will compete in the NACC semifinals on Tuesday against Aurora University on the road at 7:00 p.m.
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