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Gators Fall in Tournament Final
November 3, 2007
DELAWARE, Ohio - The Allegheny College Gators fell in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament on Saturday evening, after Ohio Wesleyan scored the only goal of the tournament, topping the Gators 1-0.
Each of the two semifinal games were decided by penalty kicks, as the four teams played to 0-0 ties through the 110 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods.
Ohio Wesleyan would not let another period go by without a score, as the hosts scored on a free kick from 35 yards with nearly 25 minutes gone off of the first-half clock, with neither team finding the net for the remainder of the game.
The Gators managed just six shots on the day to 11 for the Battling Bishops, as David Egan (Gibsonia, Pa./Shady Side Academy) led the way for the Blue and Gold with two shots.
Ryan Larkin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) stopped six shots on the day, while his counterpart Jamison Dague had a solo save. The loss ends the career of nine seniors, including Larkin, who will take off his uniform for the final time as one of the most prolific players between the pipes in Allegheny soccer history, after recording season and career records in shutouts, with nine this season and 17 for his career, while his 0.67 goals against average this year is the second lowest total in school history.
The loss ends the season for the Gators with a 10-8-1 overall record, having advanced to the league championship game for the fourth consecutive season, despite not hosting a tournament game during the entire span.
The tournament title for the Bishops is their sixth in the eight-year history of the conference tournament, with Allegheny's win in 2004 and Denison's victory over the Gators in last years' championship game providing the remaining two tournament champions.