WILMINGTON, N.C. – Junior Nassim Berhouni broke a scoreless deadlock with 3:36 remaining in regulation to lift No. 22 UNC Wilmington past Northeastern, 1-0, in the Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer championship on Sunday at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.

The win gave the Seahawks (14-2-4) their first ever CAA championship and berth in the NCAA tournament. The Huskies dropped to 10-8-1 on the season after reaching the conference championship for the second time in as many seasons.
The victory for UNCW also extended their unbeaten streak to 13 and tied the school record for wins with 14. The Seahawks also improved to 10-0-2 at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.

Berhouni’s third goal of the season proved to be the difference in a game that was contested in the midfield for the most part. UNCW gained a throw-in on the leftside line to start the game-winning sequence. Sophomore Christian Davidson launched his throw-in to the far side of the goalie box where after one bounce, Berhouni sent his shot past a diving NU keeper Scott Partridge.

In the 60th minute, Berhouni nearly gave the Seahawks the lead, but NU defender Ryan Burnham cleared the ball off the goal line and out of bounds to thwart the attempt.

NU threatened in the 80th minute to jump front as they rattled off a pair of shots. The first shot was by Nick Lueders, but Duckworth made the initial save and the rebound went to Andre Ciliotta, whose shot was corralled by a diving Duckworth.
While the Huskies did own a 16-7 advantage in shots, just four were on goal where UNCW junior keeper Brock Duckworth stopped all four in recording his career-high eighth shutout and his fourth-in-a-row.
Partridge finished one save on the afternoon for the Huskies.

The Seahawks will now wait to see who they will draw in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The announcement will be made on Monday, Nov. 16, at 5:30 p.m., on ESPNews.

All-Tournament: Nathaniel Baako (William & Mary), Andrew Hoxie (William & Mary), Adam Roscioli (Old Dominion), Shane Howard (Old Dominion), Lars Okland (Northeastern), Matt Sanford (Northeastern), Scott Partridge (Northeastern), Brock Duckworth (UNCW), Indy Smith (UNCW), Brian Harrison (UNCW), Daniel Roberts (UNCW).

Tournament MVP: Indy Smith (UNCW)