Stony Brook ousted on penalty kicks

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Antonio Crespi's penalty kick sailed high, well over the crossbar out of bounds, and away with it floated Stony Brook's season.

Upon release, Crespi collapsed to his knees. He must have sensed the game soon would be over, and it was. No. 23 Monmouth defeated Stony Brook on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie that extended to two overtimes Thursday in front of 795 in the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament.

Monmouth's Anthony Vazquez scored the game-winner, faking right before sneaking a dribbling shot past Seawolves goalkeeper Stefan Manz to the left. With that, Monmouth (15-5-2) advanced to face Connecticut in Storrs on Sunday.

It was the second overtime playoff loss in three years for Stony Brook (10-6-4), and it was a difficult pill for first-year coach Ryan Anatol to swallow.

"It's a tough way to lose," Anatol said. "You play for 110 minutes, and to lose on PKs is tough. I thought we played well and created a lot of chances. It's tough."

The teams played to a scoreless draw after a fast and physical two halves. Each team attempted 10 shots on goal in regulation, with the action picking up after halftime.

The field was slick and the chilly wind picked up in the second half, creating some tricky conditions for the goalkeepers. Manz, a junior, finished with six saves, including a couple of diving stops, but Monmouth's Alex Blackburn proved equally adept.

So a defensive stalemate came down to five penalty kicks for each side. Stony Brook's third attempt, by Crespi, sailed high. Vazquez, taking the final kick, didn't hesitate when it was his chance to put away the game.

"I saw the keeper go to the right and I figured I'm going to switch up my side, and at the last second, I hit it to the left," Vazquez said. "I didn't believe it at first. Once I saw it and saw everyone running towards me, I figured the game was over."

SBU has won one NCAA Tournament game in its history, in 2005. This year, the Seawolves came close to another.

"It's always tough to end the season," Anatol said. "It's good to be here; this is going to be the standard now. We're going to get back to work and keep getting better."