Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Oct. 23, 2013) - An old adage in sports rang true for the Molloy College men's soccer squad on Wednesday evening -- home cooking does a team good. After a loss to No. 1 LIU Post and a scoreless draw at Mercy College, the Lions edged out the New York Institute of Technology, 2-1 at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, N.Y. With the win, Molloy improved to 5-7-3 overall and 3-3-3 in the ECC. Meanwhile, the Bears, who were tied for second in the league standings heading into this contest, dropped to 11-3 on the year and 5-3 in conference play.
Herve Valcourt scored in the 30th minute for NYIT, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead. Valcourt fired the ball in from 22 yards out, past the diving Molloy goalkeeper, senior
Mario Gagliano (Manhasset, N.Y.), who received a spot start tonight.
After halftime, an NYIT foul in the 53rd minute set up Molloy with a free kick from 20 yards out. Junior
Joey Pinto (Lynbrook, N.Y.) received the nod to take the free kick, and he proceeded to zip it into the lower right corner of the net, past Bears' goalkeeper Liam Waddy. With the equalizer, not only did Pinto knot the game at 1-1, but the tally also seemed to inspire the Molloy squad.
For the rest of the contest, the Lions played hard-nosed, energetic, and determined soccer. Whether it was the prospect of taking down a Bears club that was second in the ECC or aiming to get the win for its eight seniors on Senior Night, Molloy was firing on all cylinders for the rest of regulation.
In the 78th minute, Pinto placed a nice pass to senior
Dan Brown (Queens, N.Y.). Brown shot it over to freshman
Christopher Ernest (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), who kicked the ball into the lower left corner of the net for his first goal of his collegiate career and a 2-1 Lions' advantage.
Molloy was able to hold on in the ensuing minutes to earn an incredible 2-1 victory over NYIT, despite not having much of its starting crew.
Gagliano was terrific in net, stopping seven of the Bears' shots. Waddy made two saves for NYIT.
Prior to the start of the game, the men's soccer program recognized and honored its eight seniors:
Dan Brown,
Steven Reyes,
Tom Garcia,
Mario Gagliano,
Jovani Ramos,
Anthony Morais,
Anthony Costabile, and
Leo Arra.
The Lions return to action this Saturday, Oct. 26 when they play in their final ECC game of the 2013 regular season. Molloy will travel to Sparkill, N.Y. to battle St. Thomas Aquinas College at 2:30 p.m. LiveStats will be available for that game.
