ECAC Division III Men's Soccer Chamionship
Lebanon Valley 3, Rutgers-Camden 2

Photo Gallery

LVC Starters
Avery (GK), Dal, Brooks, Katshir, Kline, Skye, Freeman, Hirano, Gibbons, Hanosek, Rineer

RC Starters
Brett (GK), Welch, Brown, Maine, Taylor, Barreto, Guyer, Romero, Masitti, Fox, Islas-Marroquin

How It Happened
The reigning ECAC DIII Men's Soccer Champions defended their crown and home field by defeating Rutgers-Camden 3-2 to capture their second-consecutive ECAC Title on Sunday afternoon. The Dutchmen finished their 2017 season with a 15-5-1 record, while the Scarlet Raptors ended their 2017 campaign with an 11-9-4 overall mark.

After recording two goals and an assist in yesterday's win over Grove City to go along with a goal and an assist today, Tyler Skye was named the All-Tournament MVP.

14:48 into the first half, Rutgers-Camden's goalkeeper James Brett went out into the box in an attempt to corral a loose ball off of Skye's foot, but Skye got their first and passed the ball back to Kaz Hirano, and the freshman ripped a ball past a Scarlet Raptors' defender who was guarding the net to give the Dutchmen an early one-goal advantage. For the remainder of the half, neither team was able to find the back of the net, and LVC went into halftime clinging to a 1-0 lead.

Just 2:53 into the second half, Riley Katshir gave the Dutchmen some breathing room when he scored off of Austin Freeman's rebound to make it 2-0. 11 minutes later, in the 59th minute, Skye came into the box from the left side and was able to get a shot off that hit a Rutgers-Camden defender and went into the back of the net for the 3-0 lead. To view all three of LVC's goals, check out the video below.



20 minutes later, in the 79th minute, the Scarlet Raptors got one back when Brian Palangi's shot was saved by Cam Avery, but Darnell Brown was there for the tap in to bring Rutgers-Camden to within two at 3-1. Later, in the 88th minute, the Scarlet Raptors made things interesting when Brian Palangi scored on a shot from just outside the box, bringing Rutgers-Camden to within one. In the final minutes of action, LVC was able to keep the ball in the Scarlet Raptors' end and run the clock out to come away with the narrow 3-2 victory.

Inside the Numbers
 - Skye finished with a goal and an assist in his final game wearing an LVC uniform.
 - Avery, who also played his final game as a Dutchman today, made three stops in between the pipes.
 - The Dutchmen led in shots at 18-11 and shots on goal at 10-6.
 - LVC also held the edge in corner kicks at 8-4.

All-Tournament Team
In addition to Skye being named to the All-Tournament Team, Austin Freeman, Nate Gibbons, and Avery joined him on the squad.

What They're Saying
"Super proud of the boys," said LVC head coach Charlie Grimes. "What a great way to finish the season by winning back-to-back championships on our home field. It made for a great finish to the great careers of our seniors."

How We Got Here
LVC began its ECAC trek back on Nov. 11 when the Dutchmen blanked John Jay by a 3-0 score to advance to the Second Round. The next day, LVC shutout McDaniel 1-0 and went on to the ECAC Semifinal round where the Dutchmen held on Grove City 3-2 to advance to today's Championship game.

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