Men's Soccer Downs Fitchburg State, 1-0 in Overtime
MEN'S SOCCER DOWNS
FITCHBURG STATE,
1-0 IN OVERTIME
CHICOPEE, MA, Sept. 16, 2006 - Elms College junior midfielder Nda Kaslong (Jos, Nigeria) netted his first goal of the year 2:18 into the first overtime to lift the Blazers to a thrilling 2-1 win over Fitchburg State College in Saturday's non-conference men's soccer game at Leary Field.
With the win, Elms College posted its first victory of the season to improve to 1-2 overall.
Fitchburg State, which had snapped a season-opening three-game losing streak with Thursday's 1-0 double-overtime win at Newbury, fell to 1-4 overall.
With the game tied 1-1 in overtime, Kaslong took a beautiful pass from freshman defender Nick Bamford (Ludlow, MA) and blasted a shot past Fitchburg State senior goalkeeper James Lento (Whitman, MA) for the game-winner.
Each team had a chance to break the deadlock in the closing minutes of regulation.
In the 87th minute, junior midfielder Dana Kelly (Peabody, MA) sent a cross to freshman defender Brendan Moriarty (East Longmeadow, MA), but Elms College sophomore goalkeeper Phil Joyce (Ashland, NH) made a brilliant point-blank diving stop to keep the game knotted at 1-1.
Moments later, the Blazers countered when freshman forward Sean Moylan (Chicopee, MA) down the left side and collected a one-touch pass from freshman forward Brian Murca (Chicopee, MA). Lento, however, made a fantastic stop of his own as he punched Moylan's blast just over the crossbar to send the game to overtime.
Kelly netted his first goal of the year for the Falcons on a penalty kick in the 14th minute and Murca answered with his first collegiate goal in the 41st minute to tie the game at 1-1.
Joyce stopped six shots to earn his first win of the year for the Blazers, while senior Nate Thornhill (North Andover, MA) and Lento combined for three saves in the losing effort.
Elms College opens North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play when it travels to Lesley University on Wednesday, September 20. Game time is 7:00 p.m.