#Landmark10: Susquehanna Men’s Soccer Postseason Run to Sweet 16
Courtesy of Susquehanna Sports Information
TOWSON, Md. – The 2016-17 season marks the 10 year anniversary for the Landmark Conference. As part of the buildup to each sport's championship season, fans were asked to select their favorite moment from the first decade from a list created by members of the conference. Each winning moment will be announced prior to the conference championship.
After the final round of voting, Susquehanna University's men's soccer historic 2012 postseason run won in a landslide, collecting 65 percent of the votes. The University of Scranton's 2015 championship title came in second while Elizabethtown College's 500th win for head coach Skip Roderick came in third.
In 2012, the Susquehanna men's soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, after defeating the University of Rochester 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"The win over an excellent Rochester team in front of our home fans is a game I will never forget," said head coach Jim Findlay "To win that game and advance to the Sweet 16 was just another great team performance in a season that clearly was the most successful in our program's history."
"In my opinion, to have us and the University of Scranton advance as far as both teams did in the NCAA Tournament was truly a great moment for the Landmark Conference."
SU kept their historic season alive thanks to a timely goal from defender Sean Raffetto and yet another shutout by their defense that includes All-Landmark Conference goalie Matt Salsman. The 18 wins and 12 shutouts all extended what were already program records. In addition, SU extended its unbeaten streak to 10 matches, six of which have been shutouts.
Rochester had its shots at tying or even winning the game but the SU defense stepped up when needed to ensure Raffetto's goal, the first of his career, was enough insurance. In fact, the Yellow Jacks held a decisive 19-8 advantage in total shots and held the Crusaders to just two shots on goal all night. Fortunately, Salsman came up with nine saves to maintain his team's 1-0 lead.
The first half was evenly played as both sides played lock-down defense, but with the clock ticking down in the period, Raffetto fired off a last-second shot from just over the midfield line. His touch on the ball was perfect as it sailed just high enough to go over the reach of Rochester goalie Scott Garfing to suddenly make it 1-0 game with a mere seven seconds left in the half.
Rochester made things interesting for the final 20 minutes of the game. The team fired off 11 second-half shots but solid goalkeeping from Salsman was part of the key to keeping the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard. Salsman finished with six saves in the final 45 minutes of the game.
With 3:20 on the clock, Salsman came up with perhaps his biggest save of the season on a Jake Cargill shot following a Yellow Jackets a corner kick; Salsman just got his fingertips on the ball to knock it over the top of the goal and prevent the equalizer from scoring.
"It was an awesome experience being able to accomplish more than anyone expected through sacrifice and dedication with people that you truly care about," said Salsman. "The experience of winning a championship and playing in Texas is an experience that you dream about but can't foresee actually happening, and in that season we strived to be excellent because we cared more about the collective than the individual."
The final Yellow Jackets threat came on a header by Alex Swanger with a mere 22 seconds left hit the crossbar and handed the win to SU and send them into the round of 16.