Nov. 15, 2009

Box Score

Men's Soccer: #20 Lewis 1, #2 Drury 0 (NCAA Super Region 4 Finals) in PDF Format

Springfield, Mo. - Lewis University head men's soccer coach Evan Fiffles knew it would take a perfect game for his Flyers to beat top-seeded Drury for the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 title.

By all accounts, Fiffles received that and more as Lewis, behind a second-half goal from junior midfielder Mardoche Beya (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton), claimed the 1-0 win over the host Panthers at Harrison Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 15) to advance to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.

"We needed a great performance on the road to beat a team like that," Fiffles said. "We put a game plan together and everyone had to execute it and we did that today. (Drury) is a great team and that doesn't take anything away from their season. We just happened to pop one in at the right time."

With the victory, Lewis improves to 15-3-2 on the season and extends their unbeaten streak to 11 games. The Flyers will square off with Charleston (W. Va.) at a time and site to be determined for the right to advance to the `Final Four'. Drury, who entered Sunday's contest ranked #2 in the nation, ends its season with a record of 21-2.

After battling to a scoreless tie in the opening half, Beya took a drop pass from the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Region, Nestor Hernandez (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West). Beya uncorked a rocket from 30 yards out past the outstretched arms of Great Lakes Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Drury goalkeeper Stephen Conner.

Sebastian Kieruzal makes one of his five saves on Sunday.

Lewis goaltender Sebastian Kieruzal (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) made five saves between the pipes for his 12th shutout of the season. For his efforts, Kieruzal was selected as the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

Joining Hernandez and Kieruzal on the All-Tournament team were Beya, Zac Bond (Decatur, Ill./MacArthur) and Jose Ibarra (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville).

"We accomplished a big thing today," Hernandez said. "We still have some work to do. We have a whole week of practice. We're going to go back at it harder and correct some mistakes we had today."

A Catholic university sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The 10th largest private, not-for-profit university in Illinois is being honored for the sixth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.

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