Swann’s Goal in 86th Minute Sends Men’s Soccer to District Finals

EASTON, Mass. ---- Charlie Swann scored in the 86^th minute to break a scoreless tie and give the Massasoit men's soccer team a 1-0 victory in the NJCAA Northeast District Semifinals on Saturday vs Monroe CC at the W.B. Mason Stadium on the Stonehill College campus.

Massasoit (8-6) will face ninth-ranked Monroe College (9-1-2) in the District Finals on Sunday at 1 PM at Warrior Field in Brockton.

"It was a great team effort today," head coach Rui Estrela said. "We played smart and simple soccer. Hard work from the boys won us the game. We still need to do a better job with our chances early in the game."

The Warriors appeared to have the upper hand in the opening stanza. Maldini Da Fonseca (Brockton) had a chance to give Massasoit an early lead, but his shot was just wide 10 minutes into the contest. The match went to the half in a scoreless tie.

In the second half, Massasoit amped up its offense, as the Warriors outshot the Tribunes (9-5-1) 9-1 in the second stanza.

Despite the strong play by Massasoit, the Warriors were unable to cash in.

Then in the 86^th minute, Da Fonseca took a ball down the sideline, touched a through ball pass to Charlie Swann, where the Englishman found the back of the net for what proved to be the game winner.

The goal marked the 14^th of the season for Swann, as his heroics send Massasoit to the District Finals for the first time since 2015. The 2015 campaign was the last time Massasoit reached the NJCAA Nationals.

The Warrior defense was stout all day, as goalie David Isaac (Brockton) earned the shutout in net.

Sunday's matchup will be a repeat of the 2014 District Finals, a contest that Monroe College won 2-0 on Massasoit's campus.

With a victory on Sunday, Massasoit will earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament hosted by Daytona State College, Nov. 12-17.