Nov. 12, 2010

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CHARLOTTE, NC - Glenroy "Junior" Chapman scored two goals to send the men's soccer team into the Atlantic 10 Championship final, as the second-seeded Explorers topped fifth-seeded and defending champion Saint Louis 2-0 at Charlotte's Transamerica Field.

The Explorers advance to the final, to be played on Sunday at 1:00 PM. The team gets a rematch with sixth-seeded Xavier, which knocked off top-seeded Charlotte in a penalty kick shootout after two scoreless overtimes.

The two teams played midfield ball in the first half with neither squad getting a real look at the net. The Explorers and Billikens combined for just eight shots, only three of which were on goal, in that first stanza.

However, the Explorers took command in the second half and broke through in the 59th minute when Chapman lofted an unassisted shot into the top left of the net following an attempted clearance kick by Xavier goalie Mark Pais. Less than four minutes later, he teamed up with Jidell Roach for the insurance goal. The pair found themselves part of a 3-1 breakaway with Roach in possession of the ball. He slid a pass from right to left to Chapman, who again found the top left of the net on a close-range shot.

Despite several close shots by the Billikens in the waning minutes, the Explorer defense kept up its end of the bargain to preserve the team's eighth shutout of the season and seventh over a league opponent.

John McCarthy was once again stellar in goal, picking up four saves in the win including three in the late-game flurry by the Billikens. He is now 9-3-3 in goal, 9-2-1 in the past 12 games. Pais also registered four saves for the Billikens while suffering the loss in net.

The teams were fairly even, with the Explorers holding a 13-10 shot advantage but the Billikens taking the corner kick match 9-4.

The Explorers return to the pitch on Sunday at 1:00 PM when they compete for the Atlantic 10 title. Stay tuned on GoExplorers.com for full recap and video highlights.