HAVERFORD, Pa. (11/12/16) – Making their first NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship appearance in six years, the Kean University men's soccer program dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 15 The University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday afternoon. The opening round game was held on the campus of Haverford College.

Kean's Sev Kherlopian (pictured left) had the best scoring chance of the first 10 minutes. He possesed the ball about 10 yards outside the box and unleashed a dangerous shot that whistled just over the crossbar. At 34:47, Kenny Rocha gained the ball near the intersection of the six-yard box and the goal line and got a hard shot off, but Beacon goaltender Omar Castro-Deher was there for the save.

Three minutes later, Robert Barrera's shot was re-directed on-goal by a Boston defender, but Castro-Deher made another fine play to keep the game scoreless.

The Beacons also had good chances early on; 6-3, 28-year-old freshman Ocane Williamson had the best one inside the six-yard box but Kean goalie Bryce Horn gloved the volley for his first save of the afternoon.

With 30 minutes gone in the game, Boston earned the opening goal on a pass from outside the box by Williamson, who slipped the ball across to Mohamed Kenawy. He finished in the bottom right corner for the 1-0 lead.

The first half was both even and entertaining; both teams managed six shots and put three on-goal. Kean led the corner kick count 2-1 but also picked up two yellow cards in the first half.

With 10 minutes gone in the second period, Pedro DeCalvraho had a great scoring chance deep in alone in the Cougar zone. But Steven Osores and Horn did just enough to harass him and force his shot wide to keep Kean within striking distance.

Soon after, Kenawy made three impressive moves to elude Cougar tackles, then volleyed a pass to the right side for Edmilson Barros. Barros made a good move himself before burying the shot to make the score 2-0.

Kazari Trought had another good chance in close in the closing minutes of the game, but Castro-Deher made his fifth save of the game to earn his shutout.

With the Cougars pressing for offense, Barros slipped in for a late goal that made the final score a misleading 3-0.

Statistically, the match was quite even; shots were 16-15, corners were 3-2 and fouls were 14-13. The Cougars just could not get their good chances to go.

Kean ends the season with a 14-6-1 record and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.