Bryant Beats Vermont in Penalty Shootout to Advance to Final

Vermont soccer saw its bid for a third straight America East tournament championship end on Wednesday, Nov. 11, when third-seeded Bryant secured a 4-3 victory in a penalty shootout after 110 minutes of play ended in a 1-1 tie at Virtue Field, as reported by sports.yahoo.com.

The semifinal match drew a crowd of 2,245 spectators to Burlington, Vermont. Regulation and two ten-minute overtime periods ended in a 1-1 tie. David Ismail opened the scoring for second-seeded Vermont in the 52nd minute by converting a penalty kick following a foul against Mark Isong inside the 18-yard box.

The goal marked Ismail’s eighth of the season. Bryant answered in the 61st minute when Manu Morillo beat the defense to a loose ball and scored his second goal of the season.

In the ensuing penalty shootout, Bryant converted four attempts to edge past Vermont. Jorge Rodriguez, Nacho Vila, Marcos Blasco, and Nacho Garcia scored for the Bulldogs. Vermont received successful penalties from Ismail, Luis Vetter, and Ezra Widman, but Bryant goalkeeper Ramon Camejo blocked Luis Fischer’s attempt in the second round, and Halim Bangura missed high in the fifth round.

“First off I want to give congrats to Bryant, that’s a really good team and they’re very well organized, Coach Resendes has done a really good job there,” said Head Coach Adrian Dubois.

Dubois added that the opponent’s game plan centered on staying organized and absorbing pressure. Vermont outshot Bryant 16-11, while Bryant placed four shots on goal to Vermont’s three.

“The next couple of days its take a break,” Dubois said, noting the need for physical and mental recovery. “Nothing really changes, now we’re hungrier and excited for some wins in the NCAA Tournament.”

The loss marks the third consecutive season that Vermont and Bryant have faced each other in the America East Tournament. Bryant advanced to face fourth-seeded NJIT in the conference final on Sunday, Nov. 15, after NJIT upset top-seeded Albany in the other semifinal.

Vermont holds a 10-2-5 record and sits 25th in the latest RPI rankings. The team awaits the NCAA Tournament selection show scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16, at NCAA.com to determine if they receive an automatic bid.