Tampa, FL-  The season has come to an end for the Dowling Men's Soccer team.  After battling their way through tough opponents during the season all the way to Tampa, the Golden Lions fell to Cal. State Dominguez Hills on Sunday in the National Championship Match, 3-0.

After defeating Northern Kentucky 2-1 in overtime on Friday, Dowling looked to bring home the Championship trophy on Sunday.  The game started off quickly, with both teams hustling to each play knowing this would be the last game they played in for the season.  Striking first was Brian Alvarez of Cal State.  In the 16th minute, he shot a loose ball into the right side to make the score 1-0.  The rest of the first half saw a lot of action at midfield, but the score remained 1-0 going into the break.

Fifteen minutes into the second, striker Lamine Traore had a chance to even it up, firing a shot from 15 yards out that sailed just wide of the right post.  A few more chances would come Dowling's way, but the Golden Lions could not capitalize. 

Goalkeeper Nemanja Veljovic finished the game with 8 saves while Miguel Benitez of Cal State would finish with 1.

"Those guys (Cal State) have a great team and earned the win today" said Senior defender and co-captain, Chris Green.  "I'm proud to have been with my team all season and over the years.  It will be sad to say goodbye."

This appearance marked the 2nd time in 3 years Dowling has made it to the Championship match while having reached the Final Four 5 times.

"Our guys went out there and gave it their all" said Head Coach John DiRico. "We had a great season and I'm extremely proud of all of them."

Make the Final Four All-Tournament Team from Dowling was:

-Patrick Cunningham:  Patrick has been an anchor on the defense for the Golden Lions, helping the team record 12 shutout victories this season.  Having been named to the ECC All-Conference 1st Team, Cunningham has also excelled off the field, being named to the Academic All-Region 1st Team while posting a cumulative 3.92 GPA over four years at Dowling.  He was also named the TFCU Academic Student-Athlete of the Month in October for his accomplishments in the classroom.

-Carl Rydin:  This is the second time in 3 years Carl has been named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team.  As an All-American in 2006, Carl dominated at midfield and carried his skills and experience into this season as he was named to the All-Tournament Team during the NCAA Regionals.  He was also named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player during Regionals. 

-Lamine Traore:  Lamine has been the backbone of Dowling's offense this year, having garnered numerous awards and recognitions including ECC Player of the Week 4 times, All-Tournament NCAA Regionals 1st team, Most Outstanding Offensive Player during Regionals, Daktronics All-Region 2nd Team, and player of the week from Big Apple Soccer.  During the season, Traore held a 9 consecutive-game streak in which he scored 2 goals in each.  Along with those honors and many others, Lamine finishes the season leading the country in goals scored (26). 

-Provided by Dowling Sports Information department.