PITTSBURGH, Penn. — Lyon College men’s soccer defeated #2 Bryant & Stratton Syracuse 3-0 to win the first United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championship on Monday.
It was yet another dominant defensive performance by the Scots, as they held a Syracuse team that had scored nine goals in their first two USCAA Tournament matches to a shutout in the championship game. Syracuse got 18 shots off, but only four were on-goal and they were all saved in another brilliant 90-minute performance by sophomore goalkeeper Gabriel Rangel.
The Scots broke through first in the 37th minute off a scorcher that was tucked into the top left corner by freshman Lucca Torres. Coming into the USCAA tournament, Torres had two goals on the season. He added two more during the Scots’ tournament run, including both the rocket from today’s match along with the dagger in the USCAA opener match against #1 Rochester.
Torres’ goal gave the Scots a 1-0 lead, which they carried into the intermission.
Twenty minutes into the second half, senior Gustavo Giesbrecht tacked on a second goal to double the Scots advantage. The final blow came just ten minutes later as sophomore Matheus Nunes scored in the 75th minute to secure the 3-0 victory for Lyon College.
Sophomore forward Erik Oliveira assisted all three goals for the Scots in today’s national championship match.
The Scots had 15 total shots, with eight of them being on-goal. Giesbrecht and Nunes each had four total shots with two of them being on-goal and one goal scored each, Torres’ lone shot of the match was on-goal and reached the back of the net, Tomas Garzon and Joao Barros each had an on-goal shot, and Oliveria along with Nate Peterson and Luca Cirgliano each had one shot.
The Scots finished their season with a 10-match unbeaten streak, where they outscored their opponents by a remarkable 30 goals to three.
They finish the 2024 season with a final record of 11 wins, four draws, and five losses. They also finish the season with their second consecutive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season Co-Championship and as the USCAA Men’s Soccer Division I National Champions.
From Lyon College Athletics
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