Men's Soccer Falls in OT in NECC Finals

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Second-seeded Mitchell College suffered a 1-0 setback in overtime on Sunday afternoon as top-seeded Newbury College won the 2018 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Championship at Hormel Stadium.

Albert Baraka netted the game-winning goal in the 98th minute to secure Newbury's first-ever title in men's soccer. The Nighthawks (11-4-4 overall) also earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

The goal was set up by a rocket off the foot of Warren Exceus from 25 yards out. Mitchell goalkeeper Seth Strader made the initial save, but Baraka came charging in to clean up the rebound. He poked the ball past Strader and into the left-side netting to end the game in dramatic fashion.

Newbury held a 19-12 advantage in total shots. Strader made 10 saves to keep the Mariners in the game while Newbury keeper Chris Tran, who was tabbed the tournament's Most Valuable Player, recorded six saves.

The first 90 minutes of the game provided several quality chances for each side. In the fourth minute, Mitchell's Jhan Carlos Bermeo forced a big save from Tran that deflected off the crossbar after the save. Later in the half, a cross found Daniel Hotaling but Tran denied him from close range, keeping the match scoreless.

In the second half, Quinn Outerbridge had his best chance off a free kick. Outerbridge's strike looked as if it would break the tie, but Tran flashed the left hand, making another big save for Newbury.

Strader was stellar for the Mariners, denying two separate breakaway chances of the Nighthawks. Exceus had a chance early in the second half, but his attempt to beat Strader between the legs was denied by the Mitchell goalie. Richard Silva later had a breakaway down the right side, but his hard strike was parried away by the right hand of Strader.

Strader was one of four Mariners selected to the all-tournament team. Joining him were TJ Condon, James Shea and Mason Rubino.

Mitchell finished the season with an overall record of 9-9-0.