St. Lawrence’s men’s soccer team claimed the 2018 Liberty League Championship title with a 1-1 double overtime tie against third-seated Ithaca. The Saints advanced to win 3-1 in penalty kicks on Sunday afternoon at Sandy MacAllaster Field. Goaltender Mike Smith ’19 made three incredible saves during penalty kicks.  

He said, “we knew we had them on the ropes throughout the game and it was a matter of being patient and waiting for our chance.” He added that the key to the Saints’ success, not only during the championship game, but “all season has been the guys that we have in the locker room. You can see it in the celebrations every game.” He also said the team has “become a family and any success that we have is because of every person on the roster.”

Aidan Callahan ’20 scored on a pass inside the 8-yard box during the 51st minute. He said, “the biggest component to our success was the effort everyone put forward.” He continued, “everyone gave 100 percent throughout the whole game.” Brendan McNamee ’19 and Charlton Kelly ’19 assisted on the play.

McNamee reflected on the dedication of the team: “I think our heart and determination were huge for us.” He continued, “we were definitely tired on Sunday, but we knew we just had to keep fighting. We worked all season for that game.”

Kelly continued reflecting on the team’s dedication by adding, “our work ethic and determination on the pitch were the keys to our success this past weekend.”

Just over eight minutes after the Saints scored, the Bombers evened the score when Alex Leahy assisted Kevin Turi’s goal, bringing the score to 1-1. Both teams battled for another 50 minutes of play during overtime. With both teams going scoreless during overtime, they moved into a best-of-five penalty kick scenario.

Nate Schoen missed the first opportunity for the Bombers.  Jethro Dede ’19 for the Saints responded with a goal, bringing the Saints to a 1-0  advantage.

Dede took note of the family orientation among the team, saying, “the key component of our success is the family bond we created with one another. No one is bigger than the team. We work collectively.” He continued, “whether you’re on the bench or on the field we all have the same spirit and goals.”

Turi scored for the Bombers and McNamee followed up with a goal for the Saints, bringing it to 2-1 with the Saints at an advantage. Smith saved Jack Monnes shot for the Saints and Miguel Ridruejo ’21’s shot was saved by Bomber’s goaltender, Max Lichtenstein. Smith made his third successful save against Luke Karen and Kelly scored the third penalty kick to earn the Saints the Liberty League title.

The whole team worked hard and cohesively all year and Ridruejo relayed this message nicely by saying, “I would say that the main key of our success is our resilience as a team. Whenever we are down or get scored on, we never give up. We have a lot of really good individual players that play really well together.”

He added, “we are a very good group of friends too and that is also important because the more comfortable you feel with your teammates on the field, the better you play.”  

Dede continued with the family theme among the team by saying, “the family environment we created and supporting one another is what created success within the team and I am happy to be part of it.”