The Thomas More men's soccer program earned its fifth-straight PAC Championship Tournament title Sunday Thomas More Secures Fifth-Straight PAC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament Title 11/10/2013 3:58:37 PM CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (pacathletics.org) – Top-seeded Thomas More College earned its fifth-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament title with a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College Sunday afternoon at The Bank of Kentucky Field. With Sunday’s title match victory the Saints earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The tournament field and brackets for the NCAA Championship will be released on the NCAA website (www.ncaa.com) at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11. Championship Match (2) W&J at (1) Thomas More | The Bank of Kentucky Field – Crestview Hills, Ky. Thomas More 1, W&J 0 Box Score Top-seeded Thomas More earned the program's fifth-straight PAC Men's Soccer Championship Title Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over second-seeded W&J at The Bank of Kentucky Field. W&J was making its eighth all-time appearance in the league’s title match. After playing through a scoreless opening half, the Saints’ leading scorer, freshman forward Brian Ruyon (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg), netted the eventual game-winner off of an assist from junior defender Alex Dean (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) just 58 seconds in the second half. Thomas More (15-2-2) junior goalkeeper Matt Kees (Covington, Ky./Scott) earned the shutout and posted five saves in the win. W&J (10-7-3) junior goalkeeper Jon Best (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) totaled five saves in the loss. Semifinal Match #2 (3) Grove City at (2) W&J | Alexandre Stadium – Washington, Pa. W&J 0, Grove City 0 (2OT); Presidents advance 4-3 (5 rds.) on penalty kicks Box Score Junior goalkeeper Jon Best (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) finished with five saves in 110 minutes of action for second-seeded W&J (10-6-3) in Wednesday’s 0-0 double overtime draw with third-seeded Grove City (8-5-6), but it was his save in the third round of the penalty kick shootout and match-clinching make in the fifth round that propelled the Presidents to a 4-3 shootout victory. The two programs battled to a regular-season scoreless overtime draw at Alexandre Stadium on Oct. 19. The overtime match was Grove City's NCAA Division III record 11th this season. Even at 1-1 after the opening round of the shootout, both second-round shooters missed to leave the score knotted at 1-1. Following a Grove City miss in the third round, junior forward Brian Hanna’s (Allison Park, Pa./ Shaler Area) successful attempt gave the Presidents a 2-1 edge. Fourth-round makes by both teams saw W&J carry a 3-2 lead into the fifth round, where after a successful Grove City conversion by freshman midfielder Dale Reese (Rocky Hill, Conn./Loomis Chaffee), W&J secured the 4-3 win with a successful attempt by Best. Grove City sophomore goalkeeper Brenden Alfery (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) made nine stops for the Wolverines. The programs finished the evening even in shots, 17-17, with W&J holding a slight 9-5 edge in shots on goal and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks. Semifinal Match #1 (4) Geneva at (1) Thomas More | The Bank of Kentucky Field – Crestview Hills, Ky. Thomas More 1, Geneva 1 (2OT); Saints advance 4-2 (4 rds.) on penalty kicks Box Score Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Kees (Covington, Ky./Scott) played all 110 minutes for top-seeded Thomas More in Wednesday’s 1-1 double-overtime draw with fourth-seeded Geneva, and despite allowing an early first-half goal, it was his play in the penalty kick shootout that helped the four-time defending league champion Saints secure a 4-2 (4 rds.) shootout win and advance to the program’s fifth-straight appearance in the PAC Championship Tournament final. Thomas More (14-2-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 14:33 mark on freshman forward Brian Runyon’s (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) unassisted goal, but Geneva (8-7-4) would even the match just 37 seconds later (15:11) when sophomore defender Kyle Terrill (Apollo, Pa./Kiski) scored off of a corner kick from freshman midfielder Nate Musselman (Uniontown, Pa./Green). The two programs would go scoreless through the final 29:49 of the opening half despite the Saints playing a man down after being assessed a red card in the 33rd minute. The Saints and Golden Tornadoes went scoreless through the final 45 minutes of regulation and a pair of 10-minute overtime periods to force a penalty kick shootout to determine the first spot in Sunday’s championship match. The teams were deadlocked at 1-1 after the first round of the shootout with Runyon and sophomore midfielder Sean Bernardi (Butler, Pa./Butler) both converting on their penalty kick attempts. Senior defender Jacob Waldrop (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) would stake Thomas More to a 2-1 lead after his successful second-round attempt, and the Saints would extend their shootout lead to 3-2 after successful attempts by Thomas More senior midfielder Jack Little (Versailles, Ky./Woodford County) and Geneva junior midfielder Jeremey Troutman (Millerstown, Pa./Midd-West) in the third round. The Saints would claim the shootout win in the fourth round with junior midfielder Christopher Lehan’s (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) successful conversion followed by a Geneva miss.