Lebanon Valley 2, Alvernia 0

Photo Gallery

LVC Starters
Avery (GK), Dal, Katshir, Kline, Skye, Alexander, Freeman, Gibbons, Detweiler, Mehl, McHale

Alvernia Starters
Rider (GK), Hart, Young, Tait, Biche, Arnold, Cole, McHugh, Guth, Reinoehl, Ringer

How It Happened
Austin Freeman scored both of Lebanon Valley men's soccer's goals to send the Dutchmen past Alvernia and into the MAC Commonwealth Championship match for the first time since 2012 on Thursday afternoon. LVC jumped to 14-3 to extend its best-ever record, while the Crusaders' season ended at 6-11-1.

LVC's historic season will continue at least one more match, as Freeman put the Dutchmen on top in the ninth minute of action when Tyler Skye's header was saved by the goalie, but the rebound went right to Freeman on the left side of the box and the junior scored to give LVC an early lead. The 1-0 advantage stuck heading into the halftime break.

To see video of Freeman's game-winning goal in the first half, check out the link below.



In the second half, the Dutchmen defense did what it's done practically all year: it kept the opponents' scoring chances to a minimum. LVC and Cam Avery held Alvernia off the scoreboard for the entire second half and Freeman put the icing on the cake with 18 seconds left when the Crusaders' goalie came out too far and Freeman made a move and scored a wide-open goal to make it a 2-0 contest.

Inside the Numbers
 - LVC dominated in all facets of the game: The Dutchmen held a huge edge in shots on goal (31-6) and shots on goal (13-2). LVC also led in corner kicks at 13-4.

 - Avery (14-3) was stellar yet again for the Dutchmen, making two saves in his fifth shutout of the season. With another shutout, the junior lowered his goals-against average to 0.53 and his save percentage jumped to 0.877. He's given up just nine goals in 17 games.

  - With the win, this will be the first time that LVC has reached the MAC Commonwealth Championship since it lost to Messiah 1-0 in 2012.

We Goin' to the Ship
The Dutchmen will play the winner of No. 5 Arcadia and No. 1 Messiah, who play this evening at 7 p.m. You can follow live stats or watch live video of that match at GoMessiah.tv. If Arcadia wins, LVC will host the Knights on Saturday afternoon. If the Falcons win, the Dutchmen will travel to battle Messiah on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. This season, LVC dominated Arcadia 4-0 and lost a hard-fought match to Messiah 1-0.