The Misericordia University Men's Soccer team held the University of Rochester to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes, but the Cougars lost the battle of penalty kicks, dropping a heartbreaker to the Yellow Jackets, 5-4 on Saturday evening at Susquehanna University's Sassafrass Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
“I thought that our kids played very, very hard tonight,” said MU head coach Chuck Edkins. “I can't say enough about the work rate and the effort of each of our guys.”
 
Rochester controlled the possession and momentum thoughout the first half, holding a 10-3 advantage in total shots and a 5-0 advantage in shots on goal. The Yellow Jackets had one of their best opportunities in the 15^th minute, but Barry Fitzgerald came up with a diving save on the Max Fan shot to keep the score at 0-0. The Cougar defense continued to hold, and MU kept the game scoreless at the break.
 
“In the first half, we were a little bit on our heels,” said Edkins. “I thought that we settled during the second half and made the adjustments to their speed on the flanks and to their ability in the middle of the field.”
 
The Cougars  turned up the pressure in the second half, and in the 64^th minute, Eric Kishbaugh fed a pass to Dan Pinto, who ripped a dipping shot over the goalkeeper to give MU a 1-0 lead.
 
“Pinto's goal was special,” said Edkins. “He's had a few of those over the course of his career, but that was a pretty good and important strike to put us up 1-0.”
 
However, the game changed once again in the 86^th minute, when MU was called for a foul just outside the penalty box. Rochester's Alex Swanger converted a great ball on the ensuing free kick to tie the game at 1-1 and send it to overtime.
 
Rochester almost ended it in the first overtime on a well bent corner by Jakob Seidlitz, but MU defender Greg Korhonen made a goal line clear on a header to extend the game, and Fitzgerald came up with another big save just 30 seconds later.  The Yellow Jackets had another opportunity with just forty seconds remaining in the first overtime, but a Jack Thesing header bounced straight down off the crossbar and Fitzgerald corralled it to send the game into the second overtime.
 
Both defenses held strong in the second overtime, sending the game into penalty kicks still tied at 1-1.
 
In the first set of kicks, both teams converted four opportunities, sending the match to a sudden death penalty kick situation. Rochester converted its sixth opportunity while a Cougar miss ended the match.
 
Fitzgerald had a strong showing in goal, withstanding a strong Rochester attack and making eight saves during the match.
 
“I thought that we defended very well as a team tonight,” said Edkins. “It was an unfortunate call on that foul, but I thought that our back four did a great job and played their hearts out.”
 
The Cougars finish their season at 13-6-3. The loss marks the final match for seniors Andy Bush, Dan Fritz, Bryce Houdeshel, Eric Kishbaugh, Greg Korhonen, Josh Pfahl and Dan Pinto.
 
“I thought that our kids left it all on the field tonight,” said Edkins. “You can't ask for more than that. This group of seniors is tremendous, and they will be sorely missed. I thought that we did everything we could tonight to get a result, and these guys really need to hold their heads high because they played their hearts out.”