POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - After 105 minutes of hard-fought, nail-biting action, an unfortunate bounce sent the Marist Men's Soccer team home with a disappointing 1-0 double overtime result versus Northeastern. The Huskies, who finished last season with a top-65 ranked RPI, tested the Red Foxes throughout, but strong will and determination kept the hosts in the game and just inches away from a positive result. Senior Josh Faga (Rochester, N.Y.), junior Evan Southworth (Newburgh, N.Y.) and sophomore Dylan Lee (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) all gave note-worthy performances from their midfield and defensive positions.
First half action saw the Huskies collect more potent offensive opportunities, though the Red Foxes controlled the majority of possession, 50-50 loose balls and physical battles. The defensive highlight for Marist in the opening period came courtesy of a leaping save by junior goalkeeper Anthony Sokalski (London, Ontario) in the 38th minute, as he pushed a Nick Goo shot on goal just over the cross bar.
In the final seven minutes of action in the first half, the Red Foxes had two outstanding scoring opportunities. Lee, from his defensive position, began the first play with a sprint down the left sideline and into the offensive third before sending a cross into freshman Cesar Ceja (Port Chester, N.Y.) near the net before a Northeastern defender deflected the ball away.
Less than a minute later, a corner kick opportunity turned dangerous for the Huskies as senior Anthony Rozmus (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), sent a high kick into the box where freshman Simon Laugsand (Sortland, Norway) flicked the ball to a waiting Greg Davis (Jamaica, N.Y.), who headed it just inches wide of the goal.
At the break, Northeastern held a 7-3 advantage in shots, while Marist was up in corner kicks 3-2.
In the second half, the physical action continued and both offenses were held in check. Northeastern registered all four of the total shots.
The game would go into extra-time and the Marist offense dominated in the first 10 minute period. Less than a minute into the first overtime, graduate student Emeka Nwachukwu (London, England) found space behind the Husky defense and fired a shot on goal from close in that required a strong effort from Oliver Blum to make the save. Following a Josh Faga shot missed high, Ceja put the team's second shot on goal of the frame as he tested Blum at the 97:55 mark. The Red Foxes registered all three shots taken in the first overtime.
Just ten minutes away from a 0-0 tie, the teams carefully went about their final possessions of the game. Sokalski played a key role in denying Northeastern's first chance as Nikko Lara put a hard shot on net in the 105th minute. Unfortunately for Marist, the Huskies' second chance would end the game as Blum would find Don Anding on the receiving end of his more than 70-yard punt and Anding would take a few dribbles to draw Sokalski off his goal-line before slotting the ball into the lower right corner at 105:36.
For the game, Northeastern outshot Marist 13-7 with a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams earned five corner kicks.
Post-game Head Coach Matt Viggiano remarked that "the team is extremely disappointed with the result of the game. We played a much better brand of soccer in the final 60 minutes and it's a shame that one mistake gave us this result. It was a tough loss to a very competitive team, but we will continue to fight and get better. If we continue to work hard and get healthy, we will start getting the results we aim for."
The Red Foxes will begin their five-game road trip on Friday, Sept. 1 when they travel to the University of New Hampshire in a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup.
