THROGGS NECK, NY - The Maritime College men's soccer team celebrated senior night in a big way on Tuesday night as they clinched the No. 6 seed in the Skyline Conference playoff tournament with a 1-0 win over St. Joseph's Brooklyn. The Privateers will travel to USMMA on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2:00 p.m. for the first round matchup.

Prior to the start of the contest, the Privateers honored their five senior members: Josh Megliola (Duryea, Pa./Holy Cross), Nicholas Ciacca (Bologna, Italy/Pelham Memorial (N.Y.)), Anthony Sblendorio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore), Justin Forrest (Lusby, Md./Patuxent), and Michael Rodriguez (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham), who are all four-year student-athletes for the team. Right after the ceremony, Maritime came out firing on offense as Ciacca fired a shot from outside the box that the goalkeeper was barely able to get his hands on to force the ball to hit the crossbar. In the first five minutes of action, the Privateers registered three shots and one corner kick.

Despite the strong start, the Bears had the answer and came back with strong offensive possessions of their own. Both teams battled back and forth for the first 45 minutes, but neither team could break through and they entered the locker rooms knotted at 0-0.

Knowing they needed a win to reach the playoffs, Maritime continued to put the pressure on the Bears defense. However, it was St. Joseph's Brooklyn who almost got on the board first in the 51st minute. The Bears broke through the Privateers strong defense and registered back-to-back-to-back shots on goal, but Rodriguez was able to make the three straight incredible saves needed to keep the game tied.

The strong play in goal paid off as Maritime was able to break through in the 69th minute off the foot of Frank Schmidt (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa). James Roland (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) quickly took a free kick from near midfield that caught St. Joseph's defense by surprise and Schmidt was able to take the pass and send it past the goalie to the far right corner of the goal. The 1-0 lead was enough for Maritime to hold onto for the final 20 minutes of play and they clinched the No. 6 seed in the Skyline Conference playoffs.

Rodriguez tallied five saves in net in the win. Maritime finished the regular season with a 10-9-1 overall record and 5-5-1 in conference play. To see the full release from the Skyline Conference, click here!