Men's Soccer Drops Heartbreaker to Loyola in Penalty Kicks

Tuesday, November 9

Baltimore, MD

7 PM

Army West Point

8-7-3

Loyola Maryland

9-6-3

Army West Point

Loyola Maryland

Photo by: Army Athletics

Men's Soccer Drops Heartbreaker to Loyola in Penalty Kicks

November 09, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PATRIOT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
SCORE	#6 Army Black Knights – 0 (6) #1 Loyola Maryland Greyhounds – 0 (7)
RECORDS	Army (8-8-2, 4-4-1 Patriot) Loyola Maryland (10-6-2, 7-2 Patriot)
SCORERS	N/A
LOCATION	Ridley Athletic Complex – Baltimore, Md.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Army West Point's playoff run came to an end on Tuesday night as the team dropped an extremely close contest to the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. The sixth seeded Black Knights and first seeded Loyola needed to decide the winner in a penalty kick shootout after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.

After the contest officially ended in a tie, Loyola would go on to win in PKs, 7-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams attempted to set the tone with their defensive intensity from the first whistle. The back lines matched the attackers every move through the first twenty minutes of the game, as neither team got a shot on goal until the 15th minute.

Loyola's attempts came up short thanks to the goalkeeping of Jacob Suppiah, who stopped two shots in the first 45 minutes of play.

John Poncy had the first attempt for Army in the 32nd minute, but the shot off his left foot sailed just high of the crossbar. The game stayed knotted up at zero going into the half.

The Black Knights quickly created a scoring opportunity out of the locker room when Andrew Guerra fed a ball to Justin McStay whose crossing attempt was punched away by the Loyola keeper. Just a minute later, Oscar Pereira had the ball on his foot inside the 18, but his attempt was also chipped away by the Loyola defense.

Andrew Guerra had the best look at 62', but his shot missed high. Poncy was able to break through into the 18 with help from Colman Kim and got the ball on Guerra's right foot in space. At the 65-minute mark the game remained scoreless.

Suppiah fought off another Loyola attempt in the 72nd and 75th minute for his third and fourth saves of the match.

The Black Knights nearly had the game-winner in the 83rd minute when McStay's cross led to a Poncy header that hit the crossbar. D'Anthony Brown also put together a few impressive runs in the first 10-minute overtime period, but the Loyola defense kept them off the scoreboard.

After the second overtime ended, the teams moved on to penalty kicks to decide the winner.

Loyola escaped with the win after defeating Army in seven rounds, 7-6.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Jacob Suppiah made five saves in the contest to preserve the tie
John Poncy led the offensive attack with three shot attempts and one shots on goal
The Army defensive group of D'Anthony Brown, Nick Atkinson, Luke Doyle and Dylan Mitchiner all played the entirety of regulation and overtime
The Army defense as a whole held off a formidable Loyola attack for most of the contest
Andrew Guerra and Justin McStay created multiple opportunities deep in Loyola territory with strong runs and footwork

COACH PLOTKIN'S QUOTE
"This team is truly a group of excellent young men and future leaders in our country. The effort they played with tonight was great.

Penalties are always a difficult end to gams and for our guys that took them tonight; I am proud of them taking on that moment.

I can't say enough about our Firsties. They're going to great things. They are all unique, but they all share the qualities of being great teammates, honorable living and excellent leadership.

We wish Loyola the best in the final and thank them for a great match." Army Head Men's Soccer Coach, Brian Plotkin