PHILADELPHIA, PA: The men's soccer team took their first step towards capturing a CACC Tournament championship Monday afternoon as they blanked the Philadelphia University Rams 4-0 in the tournament's opening round.
The clubs played to a scoreless first half, with the Deacons unable to capitalize on several scoring chances. But Coach Falloon's squad came out firing on all cylinders in the second stanza, notching four unanswered goals to take the match.
The first came in the 51'st minute, when
Jason Bryan beat Philly U.'s keeper on an unassisted goal to put the Deacons on the board. It would be the first of three goals in a nine minute span, as forward
Terry Gibbs put the Deacons in front for good with a pair of goals to put Bloomfield ahead 3-0. The first came at 56:52 off a pass from
Evans Tagoe, with the second coming just two and a half minutes later on an unassisted goal, knocking in a rebound that found it's way to the middle of the box.
With the game in hand,
Edwin Palomo added a walk-on goal to ice the victory for the Deacons in the 83'rd minute, sending the team to the semifinals where they will take on Wilmington University.
Keeper Stephen Alonso recorded a CACC Tournament record 15 saves in the win, preserving the first postseason shutout in his career as a Deacon.
"It's a great win for us," head coach Peter-John Falloon said. "We missed some opportunities in the first half, but we came out much better in the second. Wilmington is a great team and they've had a great season, but we can play with them. It should be a great match."
Kickoff is set for Wednesday at 11:00 AM in Wilmington, DE.