Afful Fires Men's Soccer to 1-0 ECC Win Over NYIT
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Sept. 23, 2012) – Senior forward Ernest Afful (Columbus, Ohio) scored the game-winning goal to send the Mercy College men's soccer team to a 1-0 East Coast Conference win over NYIT on Sunday afternoon.
Mercy improves to 7-1-2 overall and 2-1 in the ECC with the shutout victory, while NYIT drops to 2-4-1 (0-2).
The game's start was delayed as the third referee arrived at the field late, but Mavericks fans probably did not mind the wait as Afful put Mercy up 1-0 in just the fourth minute. Junior forward Ransmond Aboagye (Bronx, N.Y.) sent a through ball behind the defense for Afful, who calmly dribbled around the goalkeeper and walked the ball into the net to give Mercy the early lead.
Both teams had their moments through the rest of the first half as Mercy forced a save from sophomore goalkeeper Liam Waddy (Northampton, England) and junior Nick Papas (Castleton, N.Y.) was called upon to make three stops for the Mavericks.
Sophomore forward Andrew Levy (Bayside, N.Y.) had a perfect chance to double the lead for Mercy in the 32nd minute. On the counter attack after a last-man sliding tackle by senior center back Moustapha Dioum (Harlem, N.Y.) on the other side of the field, Levy was sent into the box on another perfectly placed through ball. He took one touch and slipped the ball under Waddy but a deflection slowed it enough for an NYIT defender to make a sliding save to clear the ball off the goal line.
The score remained 1-0 in Mercy's favor into halftime. As the second half got underway, NYIT managed to control much of the possession and sent countless long balls over the Mavericks' back line and toward the corners but could not get anything into the box for an opportunity, totaling only one shot in the half, which was well off target.
As the game wound down, the Bears pushed further up field and started to look more dangerous, but in the final minute senior forward William Koki (Aurora, Colo.) found himself alone on goal with just the keeper to beat following a deep clearance. Koki cut to his right at the top of the box but Waddy brought him down without getting a piece of the ball and was sent off immediately. Mercy played the resulting free kick into the corner and held possession to run out the clock, sealing the victory.
Afful's game-winner capped an excellent week as he also scored the opening goal and assisted on the game-winner in the ECC victory over Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday. Papas recorded his third shutout of the season, all which have come in 1-0 victories.
Head Coach Chris Smith and the Mavericks will head to Queens College (2-1-2, 0-0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 29 to take on the Knights at 2:30 p.m.
