Men's Soccer: Bison Finish the 2021 Season in NCAA First Round

University Heights, Ohio – The Bethany College men's soccer team made their 20^th NCAA Tournament appearance at Don Shula Stadium against John Carroll University, Saturday afternoon.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Blue Streaks advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Bison 3-1.
• John Carroll scored first at the 29:12 mark of the first half and led 1-0 at the break.
• The Blue Streaks extended their lead by two goals after back-to-back goals scored in the first :28 seconds of the second half.
• Trailing 3-0, the Bison battled to hit the back of the net on a corner kick. Valentin Ursino scored his third goal of the season from an assist by Joel Salomone-Gomez.

MATCH NOTES | MATCH COMMENTS   

• "It means a lot getting into the tournament" stated third-year head coach Frankie Taal. "This is the first time we have made the tournament in two decades, it is hard to express into words how special this is."
• "We have a young squad," added Taal. "We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and for some of these freshmen to come in and be a part of history is pretty unique."
• The Bison squad has 30 international student-athletes on the roster.
• "I think we gave it our all" expressed freshman Fausto Gionchetti. "We are glad to be here and this is a family that we have made and we are very hopeful in the years come."
• "Being from Argentina, I never imagined being here as a freshman and winning the [PAC] Championship and being in the NCAA Tournament obviously means a lot," stated freshman Valentin Ursino.
• After starting the season 2-6-1, the Bison finished the season 8-1 heading into the first round of the tournament.
• "It was difficult in the beginning, we're young and have a lot of internationals from different countries and different backgrounds, religions, etc so it's always difficult to put it together" expressed Taal. "I made the team believe, believe is the word that we can get it done, because we have a lot of talent."
• "Today we couldn't get the job done, because our opponents did their assignment and did well" added Taal.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Bethany's season ends at 10-8-1 (5-4 PAC) winning the last eight of the last ten matches.