TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored three second half goals to secure a 5-1 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament championship game on Saturday.
With the victory, Rose-Hulman advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in school history. The Fightin' Engineers also won their school record 11th consecutive match and improved to 16-5 on the season.
The NCAA Division III Tournament matchup will be announced at 1 p.m. on Monday. Information will be posted when available on the Rose-Hulman athletic website.
The Engineers struck first when Tim Hollingshead (St. Peters, Mo./Lutheran) weaved his way through traffic to score in the 16th minute. Senior Clint Vatterrodt (Bloomington, Ill./University) recorded the assist.
Rose-Hulman took a 2-0 lead into the half when junior B.J. Thompson (Princeton, Ind.) knocked in a goal in the 32nd minute off a pass from sophomore Will Senat (Edmond, Okla./North).
Earlham tightened the game when Corey Campbell knocked in a penalty kick goal in the 61st minute.
Sophomore Ben Green (Frisco, Texas/Centennial) answered with his seventh goal of the year from junior Joe Byrd (Danville, Ind./Covenant Christian) to give Rose-Hulman a 3-1 lead in the 67th minute.
In the 80th minute, Vatterrodt tied the single season school record with his 21st goal of the season by knocking in a cross from Max Brown (Atlanta, Ga./Chamblee Charter) that was deflected by the Earlham goalie, giving the team a 4-1 advantage.
Senat scored his ninth goal of the season from Vatterrodt in the 82nd minute, giving Vatterrodt two assists on the day and increasing his school record season point total to 52.
Hollingshead was honored after the game by being named the HCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Rose-Hulman stands 16-5, while Earlham completed the season wtih a 5-13-2 mark.
