ROCHESTER, NY – Freshman Mason Simmons made nine saves including one on a penalty kick to lead the Roberts Wesleyan University Men's Soccer team to a 1-0 win over Molloy University to keep the playoff chances alive for the East Coast Conference (ECC) Championship Tournament.
After a scoreless first half, senior Ewen O'Dwyer-Hall made a move at the top of the box to create space and drilled a left-foot shot into the lower corner of the goal as Roberts (4-8-2 overall, 2-5-0 ECC) took the lead.
Eight minutes later, Molloy (4-3-7, 2-1-4 ECC) was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box but Simmons made a huge save on the attempt as the Redhawks retained the slim lead.
The Lions applied pressure throughout the remainder of the game but the defensive unit and Simmons held strong as Roberts earned the win.
The victory gave the Redhawks a chance to secure the final ECC Championship Tournament seed if they can defeat the University of the District of Columbia in the final regular season game on the road Saturday.
Roberts won the ECC Tournament a year ago with a penalty kick shootout victory over Queens College.
The loss for Molloy was the first conference loss of the season for the Lions and dropped Molloy into a fourth-place tie with Queens in the ECC standings with one game remaining for all teams except the College of Staten Island who wrapped up conference play earlier in the day with a 1-0 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas College.
A win over UDC would propel the Redhawks past CSI and UDC for the sixth spot in the conference standings.
