Thomas College marched into the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Soccer Championship final in emphatic fashion, sweeping aside fourth-seeded University of Maine at Farmington 5-0 at Smith Field.
With Bermudian talents Tre Burgess, Cody Robinson, Justin Sukdeo, Chance Eve, and T’syi Showers heavily involved, the top-seeded Terriers delivered a ruthless attacking clinic to set up a blockbuster title clash against bitter rivals and second seeds Husson University on home turf.
The hosts signaled their intent from the opening whistle, testing the visitors' goalkeeper early through fierce efforts from Burgess, Zayin Clugh, and Brynjar Johannsson.
The breakthrough arrived in the 11th minute following a slick piece of build-up play. Clugh and playmaker David Ivarsson combined neatly to pick out Robinson, who finished with composure to hand Thomas a 1-0 lead.
Just six minutes later, the Terriers doubled their advantage. Ivarsson turned provider once more, threading a pass into Clugh, who made no mistake from close range to put the home side firmly in the driving seat.
UMF rallied briefly to craft a few counter-attacking opportunities, but Thomas dominated the remainder of the first half to preserve their 2-0 cushion into the interval.
The contest turned increasingly physical after the restart, with the referee issuing a flurry of yellow cards over a fiery 20-minute spell. However, the Terriers kept their discipline where it counted and struck a decisive blow in the 65th minute. Ivarsson notched his third assist of the match, finding Robinson to slot home his second of the evening and make it 3-0.
Thomas added late gloss to an already dominant display with two goals in the space of 30 seconds. In the 79th minute, Billy Saunders delivered an inch-perfect assist for Marcus Larsson to sweep in the fourth. Straight from the restart, Daud Abdi slipped in Serafin Garcia, who emphatically rounded off the rout.
The Terriers will now host Husson University in the NAC final on Saturday, November 7th, with silverware and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament on the line.
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