Ruffing Nets Hat-Trick; Naz Wins Opener

8/29/2014 10:27:00 PM

Utica 3, Sage 0
Senior forward Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) became just the fourth player in program-history to score at least three goals in a single game as the Utica College men's soccer team kicked off its 2014 campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over The Sage Colleges on the turf at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Friday night. Freshman Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia) assisted on two of Ruffing's goals, while senior Chris Stashko (Apalachin, NY/Apalachin) assisted the first goal of the game and freshman Andrew Ruyack (Chester, NY/Monroe Woodbury) also added his first collegiate assist.    

The Pioneers improved to 1-0 for the third time in four years and they will get right back to work on Saturday when they host Purchase College for game two of opening weekend at Gaetano Stadium (2 p.m.).  Sage dropped to 0-1 overall as the Gators were led by five saves from goalie TJ Zehner. 

All three of Ruffing's goals came in the first half of play and they were all scored within a span of 8:29.  Ruffing's first goal of the season came at the 19:25 marker and he added his second of the night just 4:09 later.  He completed the hat-trick in the 27^th minute, and that was all the scoring the Pioneers would need as senior goalie David Abdou (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) collected the shut out after stopping three second half shots. 

Ruffing's three-goal night propelled him into sixth place on the College's all-time goal scoring list as he has 14 goals in 42 career contests.  His 32 career points are now tied for eighth all-time with former Pioneer Shawn Davie '97.  

Nazareth 3, Allegheny 1
Host Nazareth scored all three of its goals in the first half Friday and the Golden Flyers held off a late charge by Allegheny to take a 3-1 men's soccer victory over the Gators in the season opener for both teams.

Graduate student Ryan Foley was a key offensive contributor for the Golden Flyers Friday as he had a foot in all three goals, assisting on the first two and scoring the third. Foley was granted an extra season of eligibility after appearing in only five games in 2013 due to a knee injury.

The Golden Flyers scored twice before the game was seven minutes old. Sophomore Lucas Bennett scored one tick before the five-minute mark on a blast from 20 yards away that found the upper right corner after he received a pass from Foley.

Less than two minutes later sophomore Dylan Toscano scored for Nazareth after Foley beat an Allegheny defender along the endline. Then in the 37th minute, Foley put Nazareth up 3-0 after he intercepted a pass and beat Allegheny goalie Jack Pugliese.

Foley's two assists boosted his career total to 21 and inched him past teammate James Wheeler for first place on Nazareth's all-time list. He also has 22 career goals and 65 points, sixth on Nazareth's all-time scoring list.

Allegheny had several second-half opportunities, but couldn't crack the scoring column until less than six minutes remained as Aaron Donahue redirected a shot by Cameron Olson.

Allegheny had advantages in shots (18-11) and corner kicks (11-2). Freshman Diego Abreu made his first career start in goal and had eight saves for Nazareth. Pugliese made six saves for the Gators.

Buffalo State 1, St. John Fisher 0 (OT)
The St. John Fisher College men's soccer team dropped its first game of the year, losing 1-0 in overtime to Buffalo State College on Friday at the Flower City Classic, hosted by University of Rochester.

The Bengals (1-0) scored the game's only goal less than two minutes into overtime, sneaking a shot just inside the right post to beat Fisher goalie Josh Klein.

Fisher finished the game with a 10-7 advantage in shots.  Philip Brogan headed two balls off the crossbar - one in the first half and one in the second - but both attempts couldn't find the back of the net.


Hiram 2, Houghton 1
Jordan Smith (Lititz, PA, Warwick) scored just before halftime to tie the score at 1, but the Hiram Terriers got the game winner in the 70th minute to register a 2-1 win over Houghton in men's soccer at Friday at the Penn State-Behrend Tournament.

After surrendering the opening score off a deflection in the 32nd minute, the Highlanders were able to pull even off a corner with just 18 seconds left in the opening 45 minutes. Mitch Beattie (Maitland, Ontario, St. Mary Catholic) served the ball into Smith, who redirected it into the net.

The Terriers responded midway through the second half on a corner kick of their own that was headed home.

Highlander keeper Jacob Dunnett (Quispamsis, New Brunswidk, Kennebecasis) made one save in net.


Farmingdale State 2, Stevens 1 (OT)
The No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team fell 2-1 in overtime Friday to Farmingdale State College in the 2014 season opener.
 
The loss breaks a streak of eight straight season opening wins for the Ducks.
 
The Rams came out strong with four unanswered shots in the first eight minutes, but Stevens quickly rallied and took control of the game. A header from junior Carson Pryor off a corner kick from junior Colin Phillips went high, but the Ducks kept the pressure on with another shot from Pryor with just under 20 minutes to go.
 
The Ducks threatened again shortly after with another header from junior Jeff Althoff off a corner, but Farmingdale junior Victor Romero blocked the shot.
 
Stevens finally broke through at the 30:15 mark when sophomore Chris Renna connected off a pass from Pryor from the middle of the field, 15 yards out to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Stevens put two more shots up near the end of the half but settled for the one goal lead going into the break.
 
Stevens started the second half strong, registering three shots within the first three minutes. The Ducks continued the pressure for most of the half with shots on goal in the 56^th, 60^th, and 71^st minutes, but Farmingdale freshman goalie Robert Tucker made the saves to keep his Rams in the game.
 
Farmingdale took advantage, and in the 85^th minute, senior Tyler Rollman scored off an assist from junior James Curley to even the score at one. Chris Renna tried to answer in the closing minutes, but his shot in the 86^th minute went wide to send the game to overtime.
 
Pryor put a shot on net that Tucker saved early in the first overtime before three most Stevens shots failed to reach the back of the net. Pryor shot again on net early in the second overtime, but junior J.T. Farmularo scored in the 105^th minute to end the game.
 
The Ducks outshot the Rams 35-12 including 20-4 in the second period, and sophomore Mike Renna made five saves in his debut as the starter.

Manhattanville 2, Alfred 1
The AU Men's Soccer team fell 2-1 in double overtime to Manhattanville College in the first round of the Frostburg State University Tournament Friday evening.
 
The Saxons fell behind early one a penalty kick goal struck by Manhattanville's senior midfielder, Michael Alcaraz in the ninth minute.  However, AU's senior forward Jeff Thomas (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) answered with his own penalty kick goal shortly after to even the game at 1-1. 
 
The second half saw no goals, but the Saxons had seven shots to carry the game into overtime.  Once again the Saxons were dictating the game as they let up no shots on goal in the first period of overtime. 
 
Despite a strong showing from the Saxons, Manhattanville was able to take the final advantage in the second overtime when Alcaraz sent a ball into Jamie Macchia who headed the ball into the back of the net to end the game. 
 
Omar Mohamed (Rochester, NY/Edison) lead the Saxons in with six shots for the night. Sophomore goalie Eric Witkowski (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy) made five saves in net for AU.