Kozic, Bergen Lift Scranton In Overtime

September 7, 2014

Senior forward Kevin Kozic (Raritan, N.J./Immaculata) scored less than three minutes into overtime on a perfect cross from sophomore midfielder Michael Bergen (Newtown, Pa./The Pennington School) to give The University of Scranton men’s soccer team a 1-0 victory over William Paterson on Sunday in the Jimmy Mills Tournament at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa.

After 90 scoreless minutes, the Royals (3-1) applied early pressure in overtime, leading to a throw in along the right sideline. After Scranton gained possession on the throw, Bergen got free deep on the left wing and sent a low cross in front of the net, where Kozic beat a defender to the ball for an easy tap-in goal, setting off a celebration on the Royals’ bench.

Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Hintz (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) made six stops, including five in the second half, to pick up his second shutout of the season and seventh of his career. The six saves were a season high and tied his career high, achieved twice last season.

Scranton held a 12-10 advantage in shots, including the only two in overtime. The Royals also had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Kozic had a team-high five shots while freshman forward A.J. Nardone (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) had two.

The victory improved Scranton to 9-3-3 all-time against William Paterson (1-3). It was just the third meeting between the teams in the past 15 seasons; the Royals are 2-0-1 in those three matches, having played to a scoreless tie in 2011 after earning a 3-2 win in 2010.

The Royals return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they travel to Hackettstown, N.J. to take on Centenary at 2:30 p.m.

--ROYALS--