RUTHERFORD, N.J. - A pair of goals by Kyle Clancy helped top-seeded Dominican College defeat fifth seed Caldwell College 3-1 Thursday night in the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament at a rain-soaked Tryon Field. The loss dropped the Cougars to 12-7-2 on the season, while the Chargers improved to 12-6-1 and advanced to Saturday's finals against host Felician.
Although Kyle Clancy, the CACC Player of the Year, scored twice, it was his brother, Ryan who opened the scoring for Dominican off a pass up the middle from Cristian Quinga. Ryan Clancy then ripped a shot from 20 yards past Caldwell junior goalkeeper Mike Turdo (West Paterson, NJ/Passaic Valley) (pictured) in the 33rd minute. Then just after halftime, Kyle Clancy scored off an assist from Jhonny Arteaga to give the Chargers a 2-0 advantage.
The second goal seemed to light a fire under the Cougars, who dominated play throughout most of the second half. Freshman defender Jan Marco Jiras (Lima, Peru) cut the deficit to 2-1 when he knocked in a rebound off his own header in the 71st minute. Just three minutes after his goal, Jiras almost tied the score when his shot that was headed for the right side of the goal was cleared off the goal line by a Dominican defender. With the Cougars pressing to net the equalizer, Kyle Clancy notched his second goal of the game in the 88th minute to clinch the win for Dominican.
Turdo ended up with six saves for Caldwell, while Kiernan McGovern recorded two saves for the Chargers.
Caldwell set a new school record for wins in a season with 12 and was ranked in the New England Region top 10 for almost the entire season.
CC - 0 1 - 1
DC - 1 2 - 3
Scoring Summary: 1. DC - Ryan Clancy (Cristian Quinga), 32:05. 2. DC - Kyle Clancy (Jhonny Arteaga), 47:55. 3. CC - Jan Marco Jiras 5 (unassisted), 70:30. 4. DC - Kyle Clancy (unassisted), 87:20.
Shots: CC - 5; DC - 13
Saves: CC - Turdo, 6; DC - McGovern, 2
Corner Kicks: CC - 6; DC - 3
Fouls: CC - 10; DC - 15
Offsides: CC - 5; DC - 2
Yellow Cards: CC - Turdo (56:48); DC - Dutra (19:34)
