Houghton Hands Stevens its First Loss

9/21/2013 8:56:12 PM

Houghton 1, Stevens 0 (Box Score)
A disciplined team performance and key contributions from two freshmen propelled Houghton to a 1-0 upset of No. 5 ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday.

Houghton received the game-winner from freshman midfielder Mitch Beattie in the 37th minute. On the play, Duck goalkeeper Paul Killian was able to thwart a solid Highlander cross, diving and punching the ball to the top of the box. Beattie was there to control it, eventually getting a clean look and putting his shot in the left side of the goal for the marker.
 
That 1-0 margin remained the rest of the way, holding up to give Houghton (5-0-1) the upset victory over the previously unbeaten Ducks (5-1-1).

Houghton freshman keeper Jacob Dunnett was strong in goal, with four saves, including three diving stops.

Utica 1, Nazareth 0 (Box Score)
Senior captain Kevin McAllister netted his team best third goal of the season in the 18th minute and that's all the Utica College men's soccer team would need to defeat visiting Nazareth College, 1-0, in the Empire 8 Conference opener for both squads at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday night. 

McAllister's goal was a pretty one, started by classmate Jonathon Peterson, who found a streaking Shane Ruffing. Ruffing then touched the ball up into the air and it came down right on the foot of McAllister. With a defender on his hip, McAllister one-timed a low shot into the lower left corner of the net past Naz goalie Nate Ripic.  McAllister now has 54 career points, good for second all-time at UC, on 21 goals and 12 assists. 

Ithaca 4, St. John Fisher 0 (Box Score)
The Ithaca College men's soccer team (1-4, 1-0) defeated to St. John Fisher (2-4-1, 0-1) Saturday afternoon, dropping the Cardinals by a score of 4-0 at Carp Wood Field.

Freshman Sean Forward scored twice in the victory, with additional goals coming from junior A.J. Wolfanger and freshman Scott Halpern. Junior goalkeeper Jordan Gentile turned away all three Fisher shots in his first start of the season, earning his fourth career shutout. Ithaca finished with a 19-12 shot advantage.

Elmira 2, Alfred 1 (Box Score)
The Elmira College men's soccer team fought through sloppy field conditions and a 1-0 halftime deficit to post a 2-1 victory over Alfred University Saturday afternoon. Nick Lapinski '17 recorded four saves in the win.

A light drizzle had been saturating the field throughout warm-ups and by the time the opening kickoff came, the playing surface was slick. With harder rain in the forecast, it was clear by the amount of energy at kickoff that both teams felt that getting on the scoreboard early was a key to victory. It appeared as though EC would score first, just over one minute into the game, however, after deliberation between the officials, the goal was waved off and the game remained scoreless.

Alfred would take advantage of their new life and put the first official goal on the scoreboard at the 10:12 mark into the first half. Nicholas Milliman headed a corner kick from Richard Lander past the unsuspecting Lapinski and into the back of the net. The 1-0 Alfred lead would stand until halftime.

Elmira came out in the second half with the intention on putting balls on net after only having one shot on goal in the first half. The strategy worked as EC put eight second-half shots on goal forcing Alfred keeper, Sam Guy, to make save after save.

The Soaring Eagles finally broke through the Saxon defense in the 55th minute when Ernesto Valverde '14 put in his second goal of the season. After being awarded a free kick, Valverde stepped up to the ball and struck a strong, bending shot towards the net. It bent around the four-person wall and skipped into the lower left corner of the goal, well out of reach of Guy.

Less than seven minutes later, the Purple and Gold would strike again as Andre Germano '15 blasted a shot just below the crossbar to give his team a 2-1 lead. The goal was set up by a well-placed cross from Brian Lowe '16.

After EC scored the go-ahead goal, the entire game changed. Both teams upped the physicality of the play and the rivalry between Elmira and Alfred certainly became a factor in the aggression showed on the pitch. Despite the numerous fouls and fourteen total cards, the Soaring Eagles held off the Saxons for the 2-1 victory.