Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 2015) – Two late first-half goals sealed the fate of the Molloy men's soccer team on Saturday as the Lions dropped a 3-1 contest to conference foe NYIT at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex.
Intense winds dictated the pace of play throughout much of the contest, as a southerly gust favored the visitors in the first half with the wind at the back of the Bears. NYIT struck for the game's first goal in the 33
rd minute as a pair of freshmen keyed the team from Old Westbury to an early edge. Midfielder Philip Atbashyan (Bellmore, N.Y.) was gifted a pass on the right side of the box from fellow first-year Martin Sundell (Enebyberg, Sweden) and after dribbling it inside the 18-yard area, Atbashyan smoked a shot into the far side netting past sophomore goalkeeper
Stephen Tappeto (Merrick, N.Y.). Not two minutes later, NYIT would convert on a wind-aided effort as senior back Gonzalo Barroso (Madrid, Spain) launched a rocket from nearly 40 yards out that evaded a leaping Tappeto and hit the left side net. The two markers, which took place in a span of less than 150 seconds, stunned the Molloy fans at Darcy Field and the Bears led into the halftime break.
Despite switching directions in the second half, Molloy could do nothing offensively to beat graduate keeper Alvaro Cruz (Madrid, Spain) until it was too late. Junior forward
Mosiah Whyte (Coram, N.Y.) converted on a penalty kick for his team-leading sixth goal of the season with under four minutes to play. By this point, however, the goal made NYIT's lead a 3-1 advantage, as a few minutes earlier the Bears got a goal from sophomore midfielder Carlos Coto (Moravia, Costa Rica) to take a three-goal lead in the contest.
NYIT outshot Molloy in the contest by a 24-10 margin, as the Bears took 12 shots in each half. Tappeto, the reigning ECC Defensive Player of the Week, made six saves for the maroon and white in net. Cruz recorded two saves for the Bears as Whyte led his team with four total shots. Freshman midfielder Simon-Peter Omooba (London, England) had a game-high six shots total for the visitors in the win.
Molloy will take to the road for a non-conference tune-up with Assumption College on Tuesday (Oct. 6) in Worcester, Mass. Kickoff between the Lions and the Greyhounds is set for 7 p.m.
