Bombers, Cardinals and Ducks Win; Saxons & Highlanders Tie

Bombers, Cardinals and Ducks Win; Saxons & Highlanders Tie

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STEVENS 3, ELMIRA 0
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team posted its seventh shutout of the season Saturday afternoon, blanking Elmira College 3-0 in Hoboken.
 
With the win, Stevens more to 8-3-1 (4-0-0) on the season and stays unbeaten in the Empire 8 Conference, while Elmira dropped to 0-9-2 (0-4-0).
 
The Ducks turned on the pressure early in the first half with shots from junior Colin Phillips in the first minute, sophomore Chris Renna in the seventh minute, and senior Quinn Conner in the ninth minute, but all three failed to reach the back of the net.
 
Stevens sprinkled in several more shots over the next 25 minutes, but Elmira junior goalie Jordan Dougherty either made a save or watched the ball sail wide. The Ducks best opportunity of the half came in the 36th minute when a ball off junior Joe Cellitti's foot bounced off both posts but failed to cross the goal line.
 
Despite Stevens outshooting Elmira, 10-1 in the half, both teams played to a 0-0 tie going into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, Stevens wasted no time getting on the board. One minute in, Renna sent a pass across the box where senior Kevin Calloway found it, and scored on the right side of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
 
Not satisfied, the Ducks continued to pressure the ball before making it 2-0 in the 57th minute. While in the box facing away from the goal, Calloway sent a backwards, no-look pass to junior Carson Pryor who hit it past a lunging Dougherty for the score. The goal was Pryor's sixth of the year and the 20th of his career.
 
Stevens padded its lead once more in the 65th minute off junior Joe Cellitti's fourth goal of the season off a pass from Phillips. The goals were more than enough for Stevens sophomore goalie Mike Renna and the Ducks defense as they held the Elmira offense to just one shot on goal during the half.
 
Renna made one save in the shutout effort as the win made it six straight at home for the Ducks. During the current home win streak, Stevens has outscored opponents 17-1.
 

ST. JOHN FISHER 4, NAZARETH 2
The St. John Fisher men's soccer team won a pivotal Empire 8 showdown at East Avenue rival Nazareth College Saturday, as Mike Lynch, Zach Hammond, and Eric Luisi each tallied their first-career goals to help the visitors earn a 4-2 victory.   Fisher now has won back-to-back games for the first time this season. 

With the win, Fisher improves to 4-8-1 overall and 2-2 in Empire 8, while Nazareth falls to 3-9, 1-3, respectively. 
 
The visitors took a 3-0 lead in the break.  Mike Lynch picked an opportune time to score his first collegiate finding the back of the net in the 19th minute to put the Cardinals in front 1-0.
 
Fellow senior Zach Hammond added to the Cardinals lead in the 28th minute to double up Nazareth, 2-0.
 
The Cardinals were able to add to their lead late in the first half as Muhammed Miljkovic connected with Eric Luisi for his first career goal.
 
Nazareth was able to break its scoring drought in the 68th minute with Ryan Folley sneaking a shot past Josh Klein.
 
The Golden Flyers made it interesting making it a one goal game, 3-2, with 10 minutes left to play in the game.  However, just 11 seconds later Nazareth surrendered an own goal to push Fisher's lead to 4-2 for the final tally of the game. 
 
Klein finished with six stops in net for the Cardinals. 


ITHACA 1, UTICA 0
The Ithaca College men's soccer team defeated Utica on Saturday evening, shutting out the Pioneers by a score of 1-0 at Gaetano Stadium on the campus of Utica College. The win improves Ithaca's record to 3-6-2, including a mark of 3-1 in the Empire 8.

Sophomore Sean Forward scored the lone goal for Ithaca, while junior Joseph Dobbins and sophomore Sam Boylan each recorded three shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Jordan Gentile stopped all seven shots he faced for his first shutout of 2014. Ithaca outshot the Pioneers 18-13, and recorded 11 shots on goal to Utica's seven. Ithaca also dominated in corner kicks, earning 11 to the Pioneers' three.

Ithaca's goal came in the 27th minute of the contest, as Forward converted on a penalty kick to put the Bombers up 1-0. Forward's goal marked his team-leading fourth tally of the season, and second game winner.

Gentile and the rest of the Bomber defense shut down Utica for the remainder of the contest, giving Ithaca the crucial 1-0 victory in Empire 8 play.


HOUGHTON 2, ALFRED 2
Alfred University (6-4-2; 2-1-1) scored in the game's first 11 seconds, but the Highlanders were able to recover to record a 2-2 tie against the Saxons in men's soccer action on Burke Field on Saturday.

It didn't take long for the visitors to get on the board. Alfred sent the opening kickoff into the Houghton end and earned a penalty kick when a Highlander defender took down the Saxons forward in the box. Alfred's Jeff Thomas sent the ensuing penalty kick into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead. Houghton pulled even in the 13th minute with a goal from Cory Brautigam, but the Saxons went back up with a header that bounced off the turf and over the outstretched arms of Jacob Dunnett.

The Highlanders maintained the pressure and once again tied the score in the 38th minute. Jesse Toth hit the ball toward goal and Tyler Groff redirected it past Saxon keeper, Chris Gutierrez.

Houghton went into the half with a 5-4 advantage in shots.

The second half possession tipped in the favor of the Highlanders as they controlled the pace of play and produced the majority of the scoring chances. Houghton outshot Alfred, 8-0, in the second 45 minutes, but couldn't find the go-ahead goal. The best chances came in the 80th and 81st minutes. After a corner, Houghton had two close-range shots blocked. Then another corner produced three more opportunities. Jesse Toth just missed on a header and back-to-back shots by Nic Loew and Landon Sheaffer were turned aside..

The first 10 minutes of extra time saw each team get off a shot, with Alfred's being the most dangerous opportunity. Ian St. Pierre had a point blank header that Dunnett was able to corral. Alfred had three shot opportunities in the final 10 minutes of overtime, but each were grabbed by Dunnett.

Final shots were 15-8 in the Highlanders' favor. Houghton also had a 6-3 edge in corners.

Dunnett made six saves in goal.  Gutierrez racked up five saves on the afternoon. 


SCHOOL CONF OVERALL
Stevens 4-0 8-3-1
Ithaca 3-1 3-6-2
Alfred 2-1-1 6-4-2
St. John Fisher 2-2 4-8-1
Utica 2-2 4-6-3
Houghton 1-2-1 5-7-1
Nazareth 1-3 3-8
Elmira 0-4 0-9-2