The University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks men’s soccer team won its first NCAA game in program history Thursday, Nov. 20 defeating the Bison of Bucknell University 2-0 in front of a home crowd of over 2,000 fans.
The Seahawks controlled play from the starting whistle with fast, aggressive soccer. The team found success attacking down the flanks, utilizing the speed of senior Jamie Dell, senior Colin Bonner and freshman Kalvin Kromer to penetrate behind the opponent’s defense.
The Seahawks took nine shots during the first half. The Bison had one shot, a lofting ball from Chris Thorsheim that sailed well over the crossbar. Despite the lopsided statistics, the teams entered halftime tied 0-0.
Both teams made changes in formation at halftime. The Seahawks continued pushing forward, with Bonner hitting the crossbar on a headed shot less than a minute into the second period.
In the 67th minute, junior defender Michael Mecham beat several players down the right side of the field and sent a low cross to the feet of teammate Kalvin Kromer. Kromer drilled the ball inside the far post from 15 yards out to put the Seahawks in front.
Just over a minute later, Bonner made a similar run down the left side of the field, beating his defender to the endline and laying the ball back to junior midfielder Daniel Escobar, who scored his first goal of the season.
The Seahawks packed in defensively in an attempt to hold the two-goal lead, while Bucknell pushed players forward in search of a goal. As the clock counted down, momentum shifted towards Bucknell. With the ball bouncing around dangerously in the Seahawk’s penalty area, the Bison had an opportunity to bring the game back within reach.
The rowdy home crowd felt the anxiety and took up the familiar cheer of “I believe that we will win.” With just seconds remaining, the cheer changed to “I believe that we have won.” As the final whistle sounded, the Seahawks earned their first NCAA win and a meeting with nationally-ranked University of Virginia in the second round. The Seahawks will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the Cavaliers at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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