 |
 Gustav Warfving |
Oct. 21, 2006
BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic scored once in each half, defeating visiting New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2-0, in a pivotal late-season Atlantic Soccer Conference match Saturday night.
Florida Atlantic got on the board early with a tally at 7:05 by Javier Carillo and the Owls added a late insurance goal in the 78th minute by Shire Standnes. Ran Poliker picked up the lone assist on both goals.
Collin Cunning, the reigning ASC Player/Goalie of the Week, made 7 saves for the Highlanders, while FAU's Philip Lamarre picked up 3 saves in the shutout.
The loss eliminates the Highlanders from a chance to finish first in the Atlantic Soccer Conference regular season standings. At least as important, it complicates NJIT's hopes of being one of the top four teams and keeps Florida Atlantic alive in the race for a playoff berth.
The top four teams in the ASC regular season qualify for the conference postseason tournament and the tournament champion earns an automatic berth in the annual NCAA Division I College Cup field to determine the national champion.
The 2006 regular season ASC champion, which will be either Adelphi or defending champ Hartwick, will host the postseason conference tournament November 3 and 5.
Saturday's results, which included a win by Adelphi over Philadelphia and an overtime win for Longwood at Howard, in addition to the NJIT-FAU match, shuffled the conference standings.
With three points given for a win and one for a tie, Adelphi leads the ASC with 13 points. Hartwick has 10 and Philadelphia has 9. NJIT holds the fourth spot with 7, followed by Longwood (5) and Florida Atlantic (4). Only Howard, with no points, is out of the playoff race.
Adelphi and Hartwick have clinched spots. The teams have one match remaining, except Florida Atlantic, which has two matches left, visiting last-place Howard on Friday and third-place Philadelphia on Sunday.
NJIT's last match is against first-place Adelphi next Saturday on Long Island. Longwood hosts Hartwick next Sunday. Florida Atlantic visits last-place Howard on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday.
A win for NJIT against Adelphi would clinch an ASC playoff spot. A tie at Adelphi would force Longwood to need a win and Florida Atlantic to get at least a win and a tie next weekend to deny the Highlanders a berth. Even with a loss at Adelphi, NJIT could get in if Longwood loses at Hartwick and Florida Atlantic does not get at least one win in its last two matches.
