Pirates Push Past Siena in Shootout Thriller to Advance in NCAA Tournament

Thursday, November 20

5 p.m.

Seton Hall University

7-3-8, 3-1-4

Siena

9-5-5, 6-1-3

Siena

Seton Hall

Matias Molina wins the PK Shootout for the Pirates

Pirates Push Past Siena in Shootout Thriller to Advance in NCAA Tournament

11/21/2025 12:29:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Molina Makes Two Shootout Saves, Pirates Collect First Home NCAA Win Since 2005

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – In a drama-filled NCAA Tournament night under the lights, Seton Hall men's soccer (7-3-8) advanced past the Siena Saints (9-5-5) in a penalty shootout, 1(3)-1(0), to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Despite immense offensive pressure in the first half, the Pirates could not put away a single chance to break the 0-0 deadlock at half. Agustin Resch would wake up the Pirate faithful with a corner kick goal to put The Hall in front 1-0 in the 59th minute. Despite their best defensive effort, the Pirates' defense let up a chaotic goal in the box in the 89th minute to force overtime.

After two scoreless overtime periods with few chances, the match came down to a penalty shootout. The opening three Pirates buried their kicks, while the Saints were stuffed on their first two before their final kick rattled off the crossbar to secure a Seton Hall win.

Seton Hall advances on to face No. 11 national seed Bryant on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 6 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In front of a packed and lively crowd at Owen T. Carroll Field, the Pirates' offense came out surging after a near two-week layoff. Inside the first ten minutes, Joseph Min and Mikkel Lejbowicz both found strong offensive chances, but Siena's Glinder saved both chances. Despite another five chances in the half, ending the opening frame outshooting Siena seven-to-two, the game remained tied at 0-0 entering halftime.
While the Saints notched the first offensive chance of the second half in the 54th minute, it would be the Pirates who struck paydirt first. Off a Hugo Gerbore corner kick, All-BIG EAST First Team defender Agustin Resch floated a ball off his head to the far post. As the ball sailed into the back of the net, the crowd in South Orange came alive as The Hall found itself up 1-0 in the 59th minute.

RESCH OFF THE CORNER FOR THE LEAD!!!#HALLin🔵⚪️⚽️ | 🏴‍☠️x🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/zBltwflmnO
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) November 20, 2025

Despite the big guy giving the Pirates the lead, the team found themselves on the back foot as the closing minutes approached. The hostility increased on both sides as foul after foul drew yellow cards, a sign of both teams knowing the stakes they faced. Despite stalling the Saints' offense all night, the visitors broke through in the 89th minute on a corner kick to tie the game at 1-1 and force overtime.

As the air grew colder, the nerves only ran higher on the pitch. Neither side wanted to give up the game-losing goal, leading to little offensive production. Across both overtime periods, the two sides combined for three chances, only one of which forced a save. After those 20 minutes had come and gone, the two sides put the fate of their seasons in the hands of their goalkeepers as the penalty shootout arrived.
In an act of recompense for not getting a chance to shoot in the Pirates' last shootout in 2020, Mans Saebbo stepped to the spot to open the penalty shootout. With pure focus and no hesitancy, the sixth-year forward sent the Saints' netminder diving the opposite way, resulting in an easy goal to open the penalty shootout.

After Saebbo's statement started, all eyes went to Pirates' goalie Matias Molina. The senior netminder, and soon-to-be multiple program record-holder upon season's end, was set to face the first penalties of his collegiate career with everything on the line for the Pirates. After a short run up by the opening Saints player, Molina dove to his left, knocking away the visitor's opening try to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Now with the lead, senior Konstantin Donalies stepped up to the spot for The Hall. Entering the night, Donalies was the last Pirate to score in an NCAA Tournament match before Resch's goal, with the former scoring the lone goal in The Hall's 2022 NCAA Tournament loss to New Hampshire. The German blitzed the ball by the Saints' netminder, while Molina made another diving stop, to put the Pirates up 2-0 with a chance to move on to the second round in the next round.

That winning moment 👌#HALLin🔵⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/1x9BBwjN4T
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) November 21, 2025

With the Pirates on the precipice of moving on, the Pirate fans began to gather along the rail as they chanted for the team. Veteran midfielder Axel Berglund rocketed the ball into the goal with his kick, the third of the shootout, to keep the Pirates perfect in the shootout. With Siena's season on the line, they stepped to the spot looking to best Molina for the first time. After a quick run-up, the player launched a ball that rattled off the crossbar, allowing the Pirates to advance to the second round, 1(3)-1(0), in the NCAA Tournament.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Seton Hall outshot Siena 12-8.
The Pirates had 14 to the Saints three.
- Those 14 corner kicks are the most by the Pirates in a single game since 2015.
Siena logged five saves to the Pirates' one.
Resch's goal was his third of the season and fifth of his career.
Gerbore tallied his fourth assist of the season and seventh of his career.

NEWS & NOTES

Seton Hall moves to 7-3-8.
This was the Pirates' first penalty shootout since The Hall's 2020 NCAA Tournament match against Virginia Tech, which they won in penalties 2(7)-2(6).
The match marked Seton Hall's first home NCAA Tournament match since the school's 2-1 win over Hartwick in 2005.
Seton Hall is now 3-0-1 against the Saints.

UP NEXT
The Pirates will travel to Smithfield, R.I. to face the No. 11 national seed Bryant Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament's Second Round on Sunday, Nov. 23. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.