WILMINGTON, DE: Two 45 minute halves and two 10 minute overtime periods, and neither team would blink.
Wednesday morning's CACC semifinal between the Deacons and top seed Wilmington University was a toe-to-toe battle from the opening whistle, with the defenses and keepers putting on an exhibition you can only find in playoff soccer. But in the end, it was Bloomfield netminder
Steven Alonso that played the role of hero, turning away two penalty kicks and leading the Deacons to a thrilling 4-2 penalty kick victory over the Wildcats and sending Coach Falloon's squad to the CACC Tournament Final Saturday afternoon.
Each team had multiple opportunities to draw blood over the course of the first 90 minutes, with the crowd gasping as each scoring chance seemed to sail just wide, or need just a little more force to get past the keeper. Bloomfield attackers
Edwin Ventura,
Evans Tagoe and
Terry Gibbs had their chances to ice the game in regulation, but miraculous saves and matters of inches sent the chances by the boards, forcing overtime.
The two clubs traded haymakers throughout the 20 minute overtime session, the tension mounting with every close play. When the dust finally settled, the only thing left to determine a winner was penalty kicks.
Such a tense moment might invoke nerves for some, but from the moment the squads gathered at midfield to begin the penalty kick round, it was clear the Deacons weren't experiencing them.
They calmly drained their first two attempts, with Wilmington matching two keep the score tied at 2-2. But Alonso gave the Deacons a huge boost with a miraculous diving save on the Wildcats' third attempt, putting Bloomfield at an advantage the rest of the round. When Wilmington's next attempt hit the crossbar after a third Bloomfield goal, all the Deacons needed was one more tally to pull off the huge upset of the nationally-ranked Wildcats.
Enter Raigoza, who strode to the six-yard line, and fired the ball to the left side of the back of the net, sending the Deacons into pandemonium and shocking the CACC by icing the upset win.
"What can you say about today," head coach Peter-John Falloon said. "I am so proud of our players, of our defense, and of our keeper. They were outstanding today. Wilmington is a great team, but we left everything on the field today and came away with the win. It's a huge win for our program, and for our institution. Now, we just have to get one more win Saturday to finish the job."
The Deacons will take on the Warriors of Nyack University, who prevailed over Post University 1-0 in the other semifinal match. The match is set for Saturday at 11:00 AM.