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A week earlier, the University of San Diego men’s soccer team traveled to Duke and won an NCAA Tournament game, proving that it’s indeed possible to do one of the hardest things in sports and take a jet-lagged team to the opposite side of the country and win.
On Sunday night, the Vermont Catamounts did it to the Toreros.
It was an agonizing end to a magical season for USD, losing 1-0 just 29 seconds into overtime on a penalty kick that Vermont’s Yaniv Bazini blasted past goalkeeper Donovan Parisian in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
In international soccer, you play a full 30 minutes of overtime in a knockout game where only one team can advance — no matter whether someone scores or not. In college, you play a maximum of two 10-minute extra periods but a goal ends it.
The crowd of 3,227 at Torero Stadium rained boos on referee Servando Berna as he walked off the field, angry that a back-and-forth game ended so abruptly on a single whistle.
The argument it was the right call: USD defender Trevor Dillon slid in late on Vermont’s Ryan Zellefrow and took him down inside the penalty area.
The argument it wasn’t: The ball was skipping away from Zellefrow and had nearly crossed the endline when Berna blew his whistle, likely unplayable if Dillon hadn’t taken him down.
In most college games that are live-streamed, referees have the option to review penalty decisions on sideline video. USD, however, does not have the capacity even though the game aired on ESPN+.
It’s the second time in three years the Toreros have been eliminated in the NCAA Tournament on a golden goal early in OT.
“I saw him take a heavy touch, I saw Trevor dive in,” USD senior defender Ethan Warne said. “I mean, it happens. It’s 50-50. It’s up to the ref. It’s a tough way to lose, especially (in) overtime. It’s hard to take, golden goal, especially a penalty 30 seconds into it.
“But the ref made a call, and we have to go by it.”
Vermont (14-2-6) goes to the Elite Eight for the second time in three years and will face No. 2 seed Pittsburgh on Friday or Saturday. USD (15-3-2) ends its season after reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in 12 years.
“That’s a top, top, top level group,” Catamounts coach Rob Dow said of the Toreros. “It took a lot for us to come 3,000 miles and beat this team. … San Diego played an amazing match. Our resiliency came through.”
Said USD coach Brian Quinn: “It’s not easy to travel across the country and play away from home. We had a fantastic crowd. Everything was in our favor. … It’s emotionally difficult because I felt we played well enough to win, and there were games this season where we hadn’t played as well and won games. But that’s the game. It’s a tough one to swallow, because penalties in our sport decide games.”
On balance, USD had the better of the run of play, with seven shots on goal to three for the Catamounts. In the first half, junior Cesar Bahena had a curling shot toward the upper corner tipped away from goalkeeper Niklas Herceg. In the second half, freshman Luca Fava had a long-range shot clip the crossbar and bounce down, only for it to be cleared off the line.
“If you get your chances and don’t put them away, the other team is going to do it,” Fava said. “Eventually it comes back to bite you. The way it happens isn’t fun and maybe isn’t fair, but that’s how football is.
“It’s hard. It’s going to sting for a while, but we’re going to have to learn from that. Part of learning is also knowing we have to take our chances when they come.”
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