The men’s soccer team ended their season with a 3-0 shutout victory over conference rival New York University on Saturday, furthering already-mounting momentum as they head into the NCAA Division III tournament this coming week. 

Judges 3, NYU 0

The scoring was kicked off in the 35th minute when midfielder Joshua Handler ’19 sent a cross that found the ready foot of midfielder Evan Jastremski ’17, who fired home his second goal of the season. After Jastremski’s goal, the scoring ceased until the 81st minute. 

That was when forward Zach Viera ’17 scored off of a volley from Brandon Miskin’s ’18 deflection. The goal was Viera’s fourth of the regular season. 

Despite riding a comfortable 2-0 lead, the Judges never took their foot off the gas, again breaking through in the 86th minute when midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 rocketed home the dagger goal, set up beautifully by midfielder Josh Burg ’17. 

The Judges outshot NYU 24-6 overall with a 10-1 advantage in shots on goal. 

Viera noted after the game, “It was awesome to finish the season with a 3-0 win, because we haven't won many games by more than one goal ... A 3-0 win allowed us to get some momentum for our forwards heading into the playoffs.”

The significance of such a breakout offensive game cannot be understated, as it finally seems the Judges’ scoring struggles are being worked out just in time for the all important National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National tournament. 

One can only hope that putting up three goals in the squad's final game is foreshadowing similarly dominant offensive showings in the squad’s coming win-or-go-home tournament games. 

The victory moves the Judges to 16-2-1 overall and 6-1-0 in conference play for the 2015 season. For NYU, the loss brings the team to 6-12-0 overall and 1-6-0 in conference play to end the season. 

By winning the University Athletic Association conference title last weekend, the Judges clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament.

Viera and the squad are ready and excited for postseason play.

He noted, “We know we're one of the best teams in the country, and all we have to do is focus on playing our game and not allowing other teams to dictate the flow of play in order to win. We have the players to make a run deep into the tournament, so all we have to do is take the confidence we've gained from winning these last four games and clinching the UAA title and apply it to the tournament games.”

The men return to the pitch as they host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. 

The Judges will  kick off the playoffs against the 13-4-1 Thomas College, while Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faces off against Stevens Institute of Technology.

 The matches will take place  on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. This marks the Judges first automatic bid into the tournament, after they went 6-1 in their conference play during the 2015 to 2016 regular season. 

The Judges are hosting for their fourth consecutive year and will be making their 13th overall appearence in the tournament. 

In last year's tournament, the team advanced all the way to the sectional finals, only to lose in a blowout game against State University of New York at Oneonta. 

En route to the sectional finals, the Judges shut out Husson Univesity and Bowdoin College. 

Their next game proved to be a considerable challenge against Amherst College. 

The Judges took home the win in a nail-biter match against Amherst in the third round, winning after penalty kicks in overtime. 

The men beat Amherst six to five in penalty kicks with Jastremski knocking in the winning goal to take the Judges to the next round of the playoffs. 

This year, the Judges hope to mimic last year's excitement but look to surpass their previous  success as they go for the gold.