The Lancaster Bible men's soccer team is headed to the North Eastern Athletic Conference Final for the first time in program history thanks to its 1-0 victory over Keuka in Saturday's NEAC Semifinals in Morrisville, N.Y. Junior Josiah Groff converted a penalty kick 3:21 into the first overtime to give the Chargers the victory.

Lancaster Bible will face top-seeded Morrisville State in Sunday's NEAC Final which is slated to begin at 1 p.m. The Mustangs defeated Penn St. Abington, 1-0 in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Keuka came out swinging in the first half as they had seven shots to Lancaster Bible's three. The Wolfpack (11-5-1) also had four corners in the first half, but could not get a shot past Lancaster Bible goalkeeper Andrew Kofstad. 

The Chargers (12-5-1) started to control play in the second half and outshot the Wolfpack, 11-5. Lancaster Bible had several chances to score, including a header by freshman Spencer Lockard that hit the crossbar, but could not convert. 

In the first overtime, defender Zac Bonomo sent a long ball to freshman Ivan Correa who was then fouled in the box. Groff stepped up and converted the goal and gave the Chargers their first NEAC postseason win since 2011.

"It was a great effort by the guys today," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Tom Ardt said. "We got those chances in the second half, but we stayed with it and just had a great play from Bonomo to Correa to set up the penalty kick."

Ardt was most excited about the team's defense as they held Austin Gerber, the nation's leading scorer, without a goal. It marked just the fourth time in 17 games this season that Gerber was held without a goal and ended a nine-game goal scorer streak for the impressive forward. 

"The defense played great today and the midfielders did a great job coming back and helping as well," Ardt said. "We didn't give Keuka many opportunities and thought it was a great all-around defensive effort."

In addition to the solid play, the Chargers also overcame an injury to senior Darrell Goff who went down with an injured knee during the contest.

"I thought we did a good job dealing with the injury to Darrell," Ardt said. "We are all feeling for him right now and just hope he is OK."

Lancaster Bible's opponent in the NEAC Final, Morrisville State, has not lost since September 13 and has won 12 straight games. The Mustangs defeated the Chargers, 4-1 back on September 6 in Morrisville, N.Y. Morrisville State has not allowed a goal since October 12 and has posted four straight shutouts.

The Chargers are on a five-game winning streak themselves and will look to punch their first-ever ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament with a victory on Sunday.

Notes:
-Saturday's win was the 300th in program history.