Men's Soccer | 11/5/2005 3:36:00 PM

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2005) -- Nazareth's Alex Kilroy (pictured) made two saves in the penalty kick session Saturday to advance the fourth-seeded Golden Flyers to the NCAA Division III Tournament after a 1-1 tie against RIT in the Empire 8 Tournament championship game for men's soccer.

Nazareth (6-9-5) and RIT (8-6-4) were officially declared Empire 8 Conference co-champions, but Nazareth gained its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with a 4-2 advantage in penalty kicks.

"It's history and it's destiny," said Nazareth's second-year coach Danny Gilbertson. "We just kept battling all day and were resilient again defensively. It was another collective team effort."

Nazareth advanced to the championship game on penalty kicks at Ithaca Tuesday following a 0-0 tie with the top-seeded Bombers.

Nazareth scored on all four of its penalty kick attempts -- Mike Deichmiller, Matt Elliott, Ed Babcock and Jeremy Bergan converted. RIT scored on its first two kicks, then Kilroy saved attempts by Chuck Marion and D.J. Rowse to send the Golden Flyers to their first NCAA Tournament in their 26-year history.

After a scoreless first half, RIT scored early in the second half as Dennis Smyth one-timed a shot past Kilroy after receiving a pass from Marion.

The tying goal was credited to Babcock, who headed a shot past RIT keeper Chris Rouland following a Nazareth free kick. Each team then had chances in the two 10-minute overtime periods before the game was officially declared a draw. Kilroy finished with nine saves for Nazareth, not including the two penalty kicks. Rouland had three saves for the Tigers.

"Both teams had chances throughout the game, but I think our fitness was superior in overtime," Gilbertson said. "Al (Kilroy) made some great saves for us in the second half that kept us in it."

Nazareth most likely will play a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, starting Wednesday. Official patournament pairings will be released Sunday evening. The Golden Flyers also were declared Empire 8 co-champions in 2003, but they lost out on the NCAA bid to Alfred in penalty kicks. It was the last game coached by Doug May, who passed away in April of 2004.

"That's why this is a great story," said Gilbertson. "Our three seniors -- Mike Deichmiller, Matt Elliott and Gavin Thomas -- all played for Coach May and they vividly remember his last game."