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 Hatters Defeat Bucs in A-Sun Semifinal
Box Score
 Buies Creek,
N.C. - Freshman Jonathan Mendoza (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) scored the
go-ahead goal with less than five minutes remaining to lead #2 Stetson to a
3-2 win over #3 East Tennessee State (6-9-3) in Friday's Atlantic Sun
Conference Tournament semifinal. The Hatters (13-3-2) will move on to play
#5 Mercer in Sunday's championship game at 1:00 p.m. The Bears upset top
seeded Campbell 3-1 in the afternoon's first semifinal.
Stetson opened the scoring in the game's 10th minute when Giulio D'Amore (DeLand,
Fla.) picked up a pass from Set Carpintero (Orlando, Fla.) at the top of the
box and blasted a long shot that deflected and tucked inside the right post.
ETSU evened the score in the 37th minute on a well timed set piece. Matt
Reed positioned himself perfectly on a Buccaneer corner kick and ripped a
header past Stetson keeper Logan Potter (Merritt Island, Fla.) who had no
chance on the play.
With just over three minutes in the first half ETSU was penalized in the box
and gave Stetson a penalty kick opportunity. Robert Hodge (Devon, England)
did not waste the opportunity and the Hatters went into the break up 2-1.
The teams played even to open the second half with the Bucs holding a slight
edge in the run of play. It paid off in the 84th minute when ETSU's Aaron
Schoenfeld caught Potter out of the goal and headed home the tying tally.
Less than three minutes later it was Mendoza's turn to be a hero. He picked
up a loose ball in the box after the Bucs failed to clear and delivered the
game-winner unassisted. It was the third goal of the season for the
All-Freshman Team member.
Stetson returns to the championship game for the first time since 2006 when
the Hatters fell 2-1 to Gardner-Webb in the title game. In 2005 Stetson
defeated Campbell 2-1 in the finals to win the championship.
Sunday will be Stetson's third final in the past five years. The last time
Stetson faced Mercer in an A-Sun tournament game was the 2005 semifinal.
Stetson won 3-1, and went on to capture its lone A-Sun Championship.
Sunday's championship game will be available for Hatter Vision subscribers.
Fans can also catch the game by going to the A-Sun website and purchasing an
A-Sun TV package.
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