Junior forward Luis Martinez scored the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute of play Saturday, as the Eagles defeated Bucknell University 3-2 in their regular-season finale. The match ends the Eagle's season at 5-1-1 in the Patriot League and 9-7-2 overall, good enough for the second-seed in the upcoming league tournament.
Following a scoreless first half of play, the Eagles broke through first in the second half, as senior defender Tremaine Chinapoo crossed the ball across the goal box to sophomore midfielder Jamie Davin, who scored his first goal of the season in the 47th minute.
Bucknell was able to answer only two minutes later on a goal by senior forward Anthony Ferraro to tie the game up at one but the Eagles retook the lead in the 60th minute, when junior defender Karsten Smith sent a through pass to sophomore defender Nick Kapus who put ball past Bison junior goaltender Will Bryne to put the Eagles ahead 2-1.
The back and forth play continued, as Bucknell responded this time only one minute later on the strength of Ferraro's second goal of the game, to put the score at 2-2 as they entered overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, Martinez was able to take a pass from junior defender Cameron Petty and knock it past Bryne to give the Eagles the victory.
"I'm thrilled for our guys to get this win and be regular season champions" AU head coach Todd West told AUeagles.com. "We'll see how it plays out tonight in the Colgate/Lehigh game, but we did our part and scored three great goals and created numerous opportunities. I hope we can carry this momentum on for Friday's semifinal."
As the number two seed in the Patriot League tournament, the Eagles will face the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders in the league semifinals. The game kicks off at host school Colgate University Friday afternoon.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
