Joseph's Late Goal Lifts Thomas to NAC East Division Championship
WATERVILLE, Maine – Thomas College senior Joshua Joseph (Devonshire, Bermuda) broke a 2-2 tie in the 90th minute to lift his team to a thrilling North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men’s Soccer East Division final victory over #2 Maine Maritime Academy (8-8-2) at the Bernatchez & Smith Turf Complex on Sunday afternoon.
TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS:
With the triumph, Thomas claims the East Division title and secures a spot in the 2024 NAC Men’s Soccer Championship, which will be played at SUNY Delhi on Saturday, November 9th, time TBD.
For Maine Maritime, the loss brings an end to the 2024 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Mariners led for the majority of play, as goals from junior John-John Dickenson (Advance, N.C.) and sophomore Gabriel Toledo (Chatham, N.J.) in the 32nd and 54th minutes, respectively, made it a 2-0 game. Sophomore James Baur (Portland, Maine) assisted on the first MMA goal and Toledo’s strike came off a PK attempt.
The Terriers proceeded to pour on the offensive pressure and managed to cut the Mariners’ lead in half when junior Cody Robinson (Warwick, Bermuda) scored off assists from Tre Burgess (St. Georges, Bermuda) and Micky Woodrow (Udenhout, Netherlands) at the 58:41 mark.
Junior Harry Clough (York, England) tied the game just over 10 minutes later with a tally on a corner kick bid, as freshman Adam Elkott (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and Joseph were credited with assists on the play.
Sophomore David Ivarsson had a great chance to put the Terriers on top with 23:27 remaining when he was awarded a PK opportunity, but MMA sophomore keeper Reagan Moynihan (Clayton, N.C.) made a huge save to preserve the stalemate.
In the 79th minute a Maine Maritime defender was hit with his second yellow card, which forced the Mariners to play a man-down for the remainder of the game. The Terriers controlled possession thereafter, but the hard-fought contest seemed destined for extra time before Joseph intercepted an MMA back pass to Moynihan and poked the ball across the goal line for the winner with only 13 seconds on the clock.
TEAM STATS:
Thomas held the lead in shots (28-15), shots on goal (14-6), and corner kicks (9-3) in the thrilling triumph.
THE KEEPERS:
Moynihan kept the Terriers’ powerful offense at bay for the better part of the contest and made 11 saves in the impressive performance.
Thomas freshman netminder Jamie Fischer (Dubendorf, Switzerland) made four saves in the victory.