Johnson & Wales opened their first postseason appearance on Wednesday morning with a quarterfinal matchup against Fisher College (Mass.). The fourth seeded Wildcats entered the A.I.I. tournament with a 9-7-1 record, their best season, ready to take on the fifth seeded Falcons (9-6-3).
The first few minutes of the match had to two sides feeling each other out trying to settle the nerves of both teams making their first postseason appearance. Alvaro Diaz (Arvada, Colo.) sent a shot high over the crossbar in the third minute as the 'Cats tried to get their offense together. Just over five minutes into play, Dalton Pando (Folsom, Calif.) took a shot that was blocked by FC's defender Jordan Markovich. Another attempt by Pando in the 10th minute went wide of frame.
Christian Gallegos (Alvin, Texas) got a shot on frame for the Wildcats in the 15th minute but Fisher's keeper, Eliseau DiPena made the save to keep JWU off the board. At the other end of the field, Tyler Gahara's 17th minute attempt went wide of frame as the Falcons started to put some offensive passes together. Both sides traded possessions for the middle part of the first half with neither getting close to the goal. FC's Robert Milne picked up a yellow card in the 32nd minute for a hard foul on JWU. The Falcons would pick up another yellow just two minutes later, this time for Nkrumah Gowie's tackle. Pando saw his 34th minute attempt deflect off the post as JWU inched closer.
With 1:35 left in the opening half, Andy Siddoway (Sandy, Utah) slotted a pass up to Gallegos who took a strike putting it past DiPena and giving JWU the 1-0 lead headed into halftime.
When the second half got underway, Gallegos looked for a second goal but his 48th minute attempt dinged off the crossbar. DiPena came up with another stop in the 56th minute, making the save on Pando's shot. Johnson & Wales saw their offense come alive in the second half with much more possession of the ball and taking better shots down the field. Fergus Bunn (Melbourne, Australia) saw his first shot of the game saved by DiPena in the 63rd minute.
The Wildcats continued to look for an insurance goal as they worked their way down the field. DiPena made another save in the 67th minute. In the 70th minute, Gallegos dribbled the ball into the box and sent it to the near post where Bunn finished it past the Falcon's keeper and defender to put JWU up 2-0.
Johnson & Wales maintained their momentum through the final 10 minutes not allowing the Falcons to really get their offense rolling. With just over 10 minutes to play, Bunn netted his second of the game taking a pass from Pando and putting it past DiPena to secure JWU's spot in the semifinals. JWU played out the final 10 minutes with much of the possession and took the 3-0 win at the final whistle.
The Wildcats held the Falcon's offense to zero shots on goal and extended their shutout streak to three and a half matches. Bunn had a match high three shots on goal for Johnson & Wales.
This was the Falcons first appearence in postseason play in the programs short history. The nine wins also marks a program record.