Avila's Two Goals And Strong Defense Lead UB Men's Soccer To ECC Finals Berth With 2-0 Win Over Roberts Wesleyan

Bridgeport, Conn.-Senior Leandro Avila (Panama City, Panama) scored two first half goals to help lift the second-seeded University of Bridgeport men's soccer team to an impressive 2-0 home win over the third-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College Redhawks on a chilly Wednesday at Knights Field.  The win ups Bridgeport's season record to 11-5-1, and the Purple Knights will now face top-seeded Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York at 12 noon on Saturday in the 2019 ECC Men's Soccer Championship Final.  Mercy defeated number four seed, Molloy College, 1-0, at home on Wednesday to advance to the final.

Roberts Wesleyan closes out its 2019 season at 9-8-1 overall.

UB will be making its first appearance in the conference championship final since 2010, and the program is looking for its first conference crown since 2001 when the Purple Knights shared the title with Dowling College.

Saturday's winner between Bridgeport and Mercy will also receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament that will begin next weekend.  UB's last NCAA trip came in 2007.

On Wednesday, Avila netted his first goal of the afternoon at the 22:28 mark when he found the back of the net after a top-notch passing play from his teammates, as senior Nikolai Vadseth (Langevaag, Norway) crossed the ball to classmate Goncalo Mendes (Vila do Conde, Portugal) who chested a pass to the goal scorer.

Just over seven minutes later, Avila struck again for goal number 11 of the season, when he slammed home a shot near the top of the box off a feed from sophomore Tom Godden (Leeds, England) to give the Purple Knights a 2-0 advantage which ended up being the final score of the match.

UB dominated the day on offense and defense, as the host squad outshot the visitors, 19-3, and finished with an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Bridgeport sophomore goalkeeper Carlos Tofern (Hamburg, Germany) made one save to earn his seventh shutout of 2019.

RWC keeper Jared Gibbons made six stops for the Redhawks.

In the 2019 regular season meeting between Bridgeport and Mercy, the Purple Knights posted a 1-0 win in the Park City on October 26.