Stevens Men's Soccer Continues Winning Streak, Takes Down Nazareth 2-1
HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 1, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s soccer team never trailed in their 2-1 Empire 8 victory over Nazareth College on a crisp autumn afternoon at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. The Ducks (7-2, 2-0) received contributions from all over the field, most notably from junior Zach Adler and sophomore Stephen Dunbar, who tallied the Stevens goals. Nazareth falls to 4-5 and 1-2 in the Empire 8.
The first excitement of the game came about 15 minutes in, as three Ducks had possession inside the six-yard box but smothering defense by the Golden Eagles prevented a Stevens shot. The Ducks would have two more good chances following that: one as Adler got behind the Nazareth goalkeeper but his shot angle was too steep for the score, another where Victor Daza was 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper in close but Kyle Connolly (Stratham, N.H.) came up with the save.
Edward Rupp proved to be a spark plug for Stevens, as he came off the bench and almost immediately set up the first Duck goal. The sophomore dribbled down the left side and sent a crossing pass to the right side of the box. Adler leapt and redirected the pass into the net with his right leg to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Curtis Stecyk nearly doubled that with five minutes left in the half, but Connolly got just enough of his shot to send it wide.
Stevens outshot Naz 13-2 in the first half, and Connolly made five saves in the period. Stevens goalkeeper Paul Killian passed his only test of the first half, picking up one save.
The Ducks came out quickly in the second, peppering the Nazareth goal with two close shots within the first minute. Connolly made a couple of nice saves there to keep his side in the match.
The next action saw Nazareth generating pressure, and the ball came lose inside the Stevens box. Shane Mead (Preston, England) pounced on the opportunity and buried it, tying the game at 62:49.
In the ensuing 10 minutes, the Ducks generated four shots while holding the Flyers to none. This span was capped by a sequence started by Adler’s hard shot from the left side that was saved but not held. The rebound came to Stecyk, who unselfishly gave up his own scoring chance to leave a point-blank opportunity for Dunbar with a specatular no-look pass. Dunbar tapped it in for what proved to be the game-winner.
Killian would go on to make some good plays in the endgame, including a fingertip save on a header from Scott Duarte (Cranston, R.I.) and a flying interception off a crossing pass in the game’s final minute as the Ducks held on for the victory.
Overall Stevens outshot the visitors 22-7, while Connolly was forced to make 11 saves for the Golden Flyers. Naz also earned three yellow cards in the match.