ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Freshman Brad Vanino scored his first collegiate goal and the men's soccer team clinched a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship as it wrapped up the regular season with a 1-1 tie against visiting Duquesne this afternoon at McGraw-Jennings Field.

St. Bonaventure (10-7-1, 5-3-1 Atlantic 10) came into the game needing at least a tie to clinch, and it can now finish anywhere from the second seed to the sixth. Only the top six teams qualify for the tournament, held next weekend in Charlotte, and the top two seeds get byes into the semifinal round.

As of right now, the Bonnies have 16 points, tying them with La Salle for second place. St. Bonaventure owns the tie-breaker over the Explorers by virtue of a 3-0 win earlier this year; however, La Salle – and every other A-10 school save for Duquesne and St. Bonaventure – still has a game left to play on Sunday.

Duquesne (8-7-3, 4-4-1 A-10) got on the board first in the 33rd minute when Joshua Patterson netted his sixth goal of the campaign as he out-ran the St. Bonaventure defense and pushed the ball past keeper David Flynn.

The goal came at the end of a 30-minute stretch in which the Dukes out-played the Bonnies, holding the ball on the Brown and White's side of the field for a majority of the time and out-shooting them to that point, 5-1.

However, the Bonnies responded in the second half when Vanino took a long, low cross from classmate Emmett O'Connor from the right wing and beat keeper Chris Torres just inside the right post. The play started off a throw when senior Fabrizio Savarino flicked the ball perfectly over a Dukes' defender and onto the foot of O'Connor.

Once St. Bonaventure got the equalizer in the 56th minute, it began to send fewer men forward in an attempt to prevent a Duquesne counter and potential loss. Duquesne entered the game with 12 points, needing a win and 15 points to potentially qualify for the tournament.

"Once we got the equalizer it just became a matter of getting a point," head coach Mel Mahler said. "As much as we would have liked to get the game winner and been a little more comfortable, sometimes you just have to play for the tie."

The Bonnies still had a lot of work to do to earn that point, as Flynn, making his final home start, was forced into making eight saves, including two critical ones in the second overtime session.

St. Bonaventure will await who it will meet as the seeds for the 2010 A-10 Championship will be released on Monday morning following the completion of regular-season play Sunday. Quarterfinal games are set for Thursday, Nov. 11, from Transamerica Field in Charlotte, as semifinal and final rounds will be the following two days.

Game Notes: Duquesne outshot the Bonnies, 14-6 … St. Bonaventure out-cornered the Dukes, 8-6 … Torres needed to make just two saves on the day … there were 22 total fouls, 12 on St. Bonaventure and 10 on Duquesne … St. Bonaventure senior Chris Leko missed his final game at McGraw-Jennings Field with a medical issue.