Men's Soccer Falls to Saint Anselm in Memorable Double Overtime
Box Score BOXSCORE – Mercy vs. Saint Anselm
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 10, 2011) – On Saturday afternoon, the Mercy College men's soccer team played its home opener under the scorching sun against Saint Anselm. After having its first match at home postponed earlier in the week, the Mavericks were eager to take the field in front of their home crowd, but in a chippy match that would see an incredible nine cards issued, could not manage to give their fans a win, falling 4-3 in double overtime.
Mercy falls to 1-1-1 on the season with the loss, while Saint Anselm improves to 2-2-1. Mercy controlled the pace of play throughout, topping Saint Anselm by four shots and four corners, but breakaways, momentary lapses and bad luck played roles in the defeat.
Play was aggressive from the opening whistle and Saint Anselm quickly escalated to frequent fouling, often severely, drawing cries from the benches and crowd. Amid all the distraction, senior midfielder Bujar Lajqi (Bronx, N.Y.) nearly broke through with a rocket from 30 yards out but hit the upper corner of the goal frame. It was Saint Anselm which managed to score first, as jubior forward Maximillian Glebocki (Wilbraham, Mass.) collected a loose ball at the top of the box, dribbled across and fired a low shot into the opposite corner for the 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.
Mercy answered 11 minutes later when senior back Collin Legge (Schodack, N.Y.) stepped up for a direct free kick 25 yards out on the right side of the net and blasted it into the lower opposite corner to tie it up. Glebocki was not finished yet, however, and collected another loose ball in the box that he slotted away in the 40th minute for both his and Saint Anselm's second tally.
Yellow cards were finally issued in the latter part of the first half, with Saint Anselm being shown three.
That did not deter the Hawks from focusing on the game, as sophomore midfielder Matthew McQueeney (Hooksett, N.H.) netted their third goal just 37 seconds into the second half, catching the Mavericks flat-footed.
Down two and seemingly out of the match, Mercy finally put things together around the 60th minute and fired chance after chance at the net, finally pulling within one thanks to junior back Manuel Paulino (Barranquilla, Colombia) who headed the ball on to junior forward William Koki (Aurora, Colo.) who headed it into the goal.
Looking to seize their opportunity in the final minutes, Mercy pushed vigorously to find an equalizer, led by runs from Legge and impressive play up top by graduate student forward Ben Latchford (Birmingham, England).
The Mavericks got plenty of close chances, including one directly in front of goal that was sent well over the bar, before Koki netted his second of the game in the 84th minute, finishing a header from Paulino after Legge had kept it in the box with a sliding save.
Things got messy late in the second half, as cries for fouls from all involved turned into more yellow cards, with freshman midfielder Ryan Flynn (Valley Stream, N.Y.) picking up Mercy's only card for the match and the Hawks picking up their fourth before their coach had had enough. The linesman called for a yellow card to be issued to Saint Anselm's assistant, shortly after which the Hawks' Head Coach, Peter Ramsey, was shown a yellow followed by a red and escorted from the field.
Knotted at 3-3 as time expired, double overtime loomed. Mercy could not seem to get started in the first period, but thanks to continued inspiring play from center backs Paulino and senior Keith Dillon (Dublin, Ireland), lasted through to the second period.
Unfortunately for Mercy, Saint Anselm found the golden goal just three minutes into the second period, as senior forward Joshua Rocco (North Reading, Mass.) locked onto a loose ball and fired it out of junior goalkeeper Nick Papas's (Castleton, N.Y.) range, and Saint Anselm left with a 4-3 victory.
Papas made six saves in net, while Saint Anselm's junior goalkeeper Eric Moriarty (Center Harbor, N.H.) made seven.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will stay in Dobbs Ferry with a Monday night matchup with Nyack looming. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
