Men's soccer falls in Empire 8 Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
|
|
1 | 1 | 2 |
Rochester, NY- The Sage Colleges' men's soccer team made a trip to Rochester to face Nazareth College for the program's first Empire 8 contest and the first meeting of the two teams. Nazareth extended its win streak to four games, with a 2-0 conference-opening win over Sage. Nazareth improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Sage drops to 2-3 and 0-1, respectively.
Senior Christopher Rowland scored his first goal of the season in the 18th minute on a strong individual effort from Serkan Ozay. Ozay picked up his first career assist by beating a defender on the right side and threading a pass through to Rowland for a one-time shot back across the grain.
The Golden Flyers maintained a 1-0 lead at the break.
Early into the second half the Gators Heriberto Gomez found the net, but was ruled off-sides and the goal was erased.
Nazareth nearly found the back of the net again four minutes into the second half as a header from Matt Gasbarre was cleared off the line by a Gators defender.
In the 69th minute the Sage had a head ball hit off the crossbar and over in one of its best chances of the contest.
Nazareth added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute on freshman Max Staniec's first career-goal. Gasbarre headed back an initial corner kick that Dan Serpe one-timed and Staniec put home off the rebound.
Brian Wilkin made five saves in net to pick up his second shutout of the season. Gator junior keeper Michael Chiaravalloti's (Torrington, CT/Oliver Wolcott) took the loss after making 10 saves in the match.
Next up for the Gators, they will host Elms College on September 20 at 4 p.m. at ACP's Athletic Complex.
Team Stats
Nazareth
| Game Statistics | Russell Sage College | Nazareth |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 12 (5) | 17 (12) |
| Saves | 10 | 5 |
| Fouls | 8 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 4 |
| Offsides | 2 | 1 |
