Cougars Advance to CACC Tourney with 2-1 Win Over Dominican

Box Score CALDWELL, N.J. – The Caldwell College men's soccer team came through in a must-win situation, defeating Dominican College 2-1 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon at Caldwell Field. With the victory, the Cougars (6-10-1, 5-6 CACC) finish in eighth place in the conference standings to grab the final playoff spot. The Chargers, who are in second place, complete the regular season at 9-5-2, 7-3-1 CACC.

In the 35th minute, junior forward Kris Olsen-Barr (Brick Twp., NJ/Brick Twp.) got on the end of a pass from senior midfielder D.J. Kafer (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown) and placed a shot over the goalkeeper and under the crossbar for a 1-0 Caldwell lead. Dominican stepped up its attack in the second half and had a golden chance to tie the score in the 61st minute. Christopher Walsh knocked a loose ball in behind Caldwell goalkeeper Michael Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) and toward the empty goal. But sophomore defender Steve Petrosino (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) caught up to the ball and cleared it right before it could cross the goal line.

Ten minutes later, Kafer headed home a long throw-in from sophomore midfielder Yousef Elhusseini (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) to give the Cougars a two-goal advantage. Jorge Zubillaga ended Hartmann's shutout bid with a goal off a free kick with 33 seconds remaining. But it was not enough to prevent Caldwell from defeating Dominican for the first time since 2001, ending a 14-game winless streak against the Chargers that included 13 losses.

Hatmann recorded six saves for the Cougars, while Andres Ruiz had four saves for Dominican. The Chargers held a 15-10 advantage in shots.

The victory also marked the final home game for five Caldwell seniors: Kafer, goalkeeper Brian Agostini (N. Caldwell, NJ/West Essex), defenders Brandon Hughes (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) and George Mikula (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls), midfielder Chris Skarbelis (N. Andover, MD/Leonardtown) and forward Facundo Zalazar (Buenos Aires City, Argentina/San Agustin).

The Cougars will take on top-seeded Post University in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament on Monday, Oct. 29, beginning at 12:00 p.m. in Waterbury, Conn.

CC – 1 1 - 2
DC – 0 1 - 1
Scoring Summary: 1. CC - Kris Olsen-Barr 3 (D.J. Kafer, Chris Skarbelis), 34:34. 2. CC - Kafer 2 (Yousef Elhusseini), 71:27. 3. DC - Jorge Zubillaga 7 (unassisted), 89:27.
Shots: CC – 10; DC – 15
Saves: CC – Michael Hartmann 6, Team 1; DC – Andres Ruiz 4
Corners: CC - 4; DC - 1
Fouls: CC - 15; DC - 14
Offsides: CC - 2; DC - 5
Cautions: CC - Benites (57:17), Barros (74:50), Petrosino (89:27), Zalazar (89:47); DC - Medina (43:39)

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