Lebanon Valley 2, Drew University 1

LVC Starters
Avery, Dal, Katshir, Kline, Skye, Alexander, Gibbons, Detweiler, Mehl, Prince, McHale

Drew Starters
Audi, Howells, McMyne, Goncalves, Hammer, Swenson, Cserhat, Sollod, Correa, Imoh, Adamo (GK)

How It Happened
What a way to end the 2016 season… Lebanon Valley's men's soccer team defeated Drew University 2-1 to win its first-ever ECAC DIII Championship. It was truly the icing on the cake of an already-extraordinary season for the Dutchmen, who won an LVC-record 18 games this season.

LVC, who played today's game as the away team due to the Rangers (13-6-3) being the higher seed, had Herbert Field rocking all game in the very cold weather that even featured a few flurries. Each one of LVC's players made 2016 a year that won't be soon forgotten for fans, parents, and coaches.

Here's how it all went down this afternoon: In just the ninth minute of action, Cam Alexander ran down the left side of the field and crossed a pass into the box where Bradley Mehl was waiting, and Mehl used his right foot to put one past Drew's Jason Adamo to give the Dutchmen a huge 1-0 early advantage. For the remainder of the half, the Dutchmen kept the Rangers off the scoreboard and went into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead.

In the 61st minute of the second, LVC went ahead by two goals when Alexander again delivered a beautiful pass, this time to Matt Prince who played the ball off of his chest in the box and hit a rocket into the back of the net for the crucial 2-0 advantage. Drew refused to quit, however, and answered in the 79th minute when Dylan Hammer scored his eighth of the year to bring the Rangers to within one at 2-1.

The Dutchmen got rewarded for outplaying Drew for the majority of the game and were able to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard and held on for the 2-1 win to capture their first-ever ECAC Title.

To view both of LVC's goals and the celebration when the clock hit 00:00, check out the video below.


Alexander Named Tournament MVP
Alexander had a very successful ECAC Tournament and was rewarded by being named the Tournament MVP. In LVC's four ECAC matches, Alexander scored a goal and added for assists for the Dutchmen.

Three Others Named All-Tournament
In addition to Alexander being named MVP, he was named to the All-Tournament team, and joining him were his teammates Tyler Skye, Nate Gibbons, and Cam Avery.

Inside the Numbers
 - Drew held a slight edge in shots at 14-12, however LVC led in shots on goal at 9-6.
 - Drew's Jason Adamo made seven saves, while Avery (18-4) stopped five shots.
 - Corner kicks were even this afternoon at 7-7.

How We Got Here
In past years, the ECAC had regional winners and four different champions were named, but this year, a new rule was put in place where the ECAC would crown one single winner, and what a tournament it was for the Dutchmen. Last weekend, LVC blanked Cabrini in its opening-round game by a 3-0 score before downing Grove City 3-1 the next day to advance to yesterday's semifinal game, where the Dutchmen edged William Paterson 2-1.

The Season That Was
Today's match capped an already-historic season for LVC. Its 18 wins in one season is an all-time LVC record, while Avery's six shutouts is the most-ever for a goalie in a season in Dutchmen history. LVC also cracked the NCAA top-25 for the first time in program history earlier this season. To the seniors: Ian McGinnis, Gabe Stasyszyn, Jon Kok, Alexander, Ryan Peugh, Alex Detweiler, Mehl, John McHale, and Brad Wood, and the coaches Charlie Grimes, Tim Mehl '09, and Matt Frey, and the rest of the LVC squad, thank you for making this an unforgettable season. It was truly a memorable year.