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Sports

Seawolves Soccer Beats Vermont in Playoff Opener

Defending America East Conference champions start playoffs with win, travel to avenge loss to UMBC next.

After finishing the regular season winless in their last three home games, Stony Brook responded in a home playoff opener by shutting down Vermont, 2-0.

The Seawolves – the defending conference champions – nearly ran the Catamounts off the field, playing a lot of dump and chase and beating their opponents on passes sent into space. Stony Brook endured a scare in the first half when America East midfielder of the year Leonardo Fernandes split his eyebrow open, requiring stitches. Fernandes returned in the second half, but did not have a shot after the injury.

Heroes: With Fernandes injured, the Seawolves forwards stepped up and shouldered the offense. Raphael Abreu struck first, picking up a ball that was misplayed by the Vermont keeper and blasted it into the net in the 20th minute. Berian Gobeil, who had many near misses, connected with a header off a corner kick that beat the goalie for the final score. The defense also played strong, limiting the Catamounts to 4 shots on goal. Seawolves goalkeeper Stefan Manz, tied for first in the conference with 8 shutouts, recorded his first clean sheet of the playoffs.

Turning Point: The Abreu goal. The game was evenly contested in the opening moments of the match before Abreu took the rebound and put the Seawolves on the scoreboard. Soon after, Vermont moved a defender up to the offense and Stony Brook dominated the three-back defense. Scoring opportunities seemed to materialize every time a Seawolf touched the ball and the Catamounts labored to get the ball out of their half.

Quote: "We went with a very quick lineup tonight. We put four guys in the middle of the field that can really move the ball with some good foot speed," coach Cesar Markovic said. "Our intent was to play a fast game around them, a passing game, and make them us around a little bit. I think we did a pretty good job with that."

Bottom Line: The Seawolves move on and have revenge on their minds. UMBC came to Stony Brook for the regular season finale in a battle for the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. UMBC won that contest 1-0 and rested this week, forcing Stony Brook to play the opener against Vermont. Now the Seawolves have to travel and beat UMBC on the road – or the season is over.

"They're a very, very good team. They have a very special player (Levi Houapeu) that's going to be in the MLS next year," Markovic said. "We always have good games with them, we're looking forward to it."

Key Stats:

Abreu: Goal (6), 4 shots.

Gobeil: Goal (6), 4 shots.

Manz: 4 saves, shutout.

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