Alobeidy and Dashi Star for Men's Soccer in 2-1 Victory Over Nyack
Box Score NYACK, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2012) – Junior midfielder Mustaffa Alobeidy (Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Roberto Dashi (Nyack, N.Y.) each scored and assisted on a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, to defeat the host Nyack Warriors in the conclusion of the Nyack Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Mercy improves to 2-0 to start the season while Nyack drops to 1-1 after winning its Nyack Tournament opener as well.
Both offenses came out firing in the early going, but it was Mercy that struck first in the 10th minute as Dashi cracked a shot that rebounded to Alobeidy, who finished it to take the early 1-0 lead. The Mavericks nearly picked up another at the 24th-minute mark as Dashi forced a pair of saves in a nine-second span, after which the Mavericks settled back and seemed content to take the one-goal edge into halftime.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Nyack started the second half even stronger than the first, cracking three shots and forcing two corners in the first five minutes before finally evening the score when freshman defender Jacob Schwanitz (Rauen, Germany) received a pass from junior midfielder Felix Horn (Halle, Germany) and blasted it into the upper right corner.
The strike woke up Mercy's offense again, however, with Dashi smashing his fourth shot on goal in as many attempts just a minute later. The Mavericks came up with several more dangerous chances as the half wound down and drew two yellow cards on the Warriors but could not find the back of the net before the whistle, and the game headed to overtime.
Both teams came out warily before slowly building up attacks, but Mercy came through in the 99th minute as Alobeidy fed Dashi, whose back to the goal just outside the penalty box. Dashi then turned on the ball and fired it home for the game-winner, his second on as many career goals.
Dashi and Alobeidy combined to go 6-6 in shots on goal, with senior midfielder Ernest Afful (Columbus, Ohio) contributing two more on three total shots. Junior goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y.) held things down at the back with eight saves.
Schwanitz led the Warriors' attack with five shots, three of which he put on goal, while senior goalkeeper Jodel Wright (Queens, N.Y.) made six saves.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will look to keep their perfect record going at Chestnut Hill College on Tuesday, Sept.4 in a 5:00 p.m. kickoff.
