NAZARETH'S RUN ENDS IN QUARTERFINALS AGAINST NYU, 1-0
Golden Flyers finish 15-5-3 in men's soccer
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NEWARK, N.J. (Nov. 19, 2006) -- Host New York University got an early second-half goal from Robert Keller Sunday and the Violets held on to defeat Nazareth in an NCAA Division III quarterfinal match in men's soccer, 1-0, at New Jersey Institute of Technology's Lubetkin Field.

The Violets (15-3-4), making their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament, will compete again next weekend in the Final Four at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando. NYU will play defending champion Messiah (19-1-2) in one semifinal game. Ohio Wesleyan (15-0-6) and Wheaton, Ill. (15-7-4) will play in the other. Nazareth, which made its deepest post-season run in its 27-year history, finished the season with a record of 15-5-3.

"We'll get over it," said Nazareth Coach Danny Gilbertson (pictured). "We've got a lot of positives to reflect upon from this season. We can't be dissatisfied with what we've achieved."

NYU had a slight edge in statistics, including an 18-13 advantage in shots and a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Keller's goal, his second of the season, came in the 51st minute after a scramble in front of Nazareth keeper Alex Kilroy (nine saves). The play originated with a corner kick by NYU's Max Sachar and the ball bounced around the penalty area before Keller knocked it past Kilroy.

Nazareth had some chances to tie the score, but a header by Scott Rigney in the 73rd minute went wide right and a shot by Greg Blanchard in the 75th minute was blocked by an NYU defender. Rigney also had a free kick in the 77th minute that sailed wide. The Violets also had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 58th minute, but Nazareth sweeper Mohammed Ahamed kicked away a shot by Sachar after Kilroy was beaten near the top of the penalty area.

"They played a physical game that took us out of our game a bit," said Gilbertson. "After they scored we just couldn't get our rhythm back and couldn't put anything together."

The season ended with the Golden Flyers setting several school records, including most victories in a season (15) and most shutouts (8). Nazareth, picked to finish fifth in the Empire 8 Conference in a pre-season poll, won the Empire 8 Conference title and won NCAA Tournament games over Geneseo, Medaille and UC Santa Cruz before falling to NYU.

"We knew that we were better than what people thought," said Gilbertson, "but we knew we had to work hard to get it right."