MEDAILLE USES PENALTY KICKS TO WIN MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

#3 seed Medaille College defeated the top seed and defending champ Penn St. Behrend in penalty kicks to win their first AMCC title since 2012.

The Mavericks opened the scoring in the first half on a nifty carry in by Anthony Marfioti who passed off to Given Holy Gbode who finished the play to the back of the net.  Behrend took advantage of a penalty kick opportunity by Matt Dziadosz after he was fouled in the box and knotted the score, and that was the end of the scoring until the penalty kick sequence.

It took seven attempts by each team to decided the game.  Medaille got goals from Kyle Ferguson, James Lange, Anthony Marafioti, Pablo Ballesteros and Callum Christie.  Christie, the Mavericks goalkeeper, also made two stops on Behrend.  Scoring for the Lions were Ryan Maurer, Nick Schwartzel, Richard Blanchard and Nick Kisiel.

The match was a repeat of the 2016 title game which was won by Behrend.  The two teams have faced each other ten times over the years, with the squads even with five wins apiece. 

With the victory, Medaille earns the AMCC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.  Selections and pairings will be announced Monday. 

All-Tournament Team
Medaille College:  Anthony Marafioti, Given Holy Gbode, Kyle Ferguson
Penn St. Behrend:  Chris Ralph, Matt Dziadosz, Aaron Harris
La Roche College: Joaquin Vicent Franch, Abdullah Aljundi
​D'Youville College:  Josh Hammer, Kyle Dick
Franciscan University: Dominic Vander Woude, Leo Herrmann
Mount Aloysius College: James Eyre, Kyle Marshall