Box Score CALDWELL, N.J. (Sept. 8, 2015) - Down two goals with less than twenty minutes to play, the Molloy College men's soccer team battled back to level the score, eventually defeating Caldwell University in overtime, 3-2, at Caldwell Field on Tuesday.
Molloy (2-0) would have an early chance less than four minutes into the contest, as red-shirt senior middie
Lester Franco (Bay Shore, N.Y.) would receive a penalty kick chance following a foul inside the 18-yard box against Caldwell (0-3). However, Franco's shot was parried aside by senior goalie Michael Hartmann (Medford, N.J.) to keep the maroon and white off the scoresheet for the moment. The Lions offense would continue to charge, but Hartmann turned aside four more shots by Molloy attackers in the next 22 minutes of action.
In the 28th minute, the home side struck for the game's first marker, as a pair of freshman teamed up to put the ball past sophomore goalkeeper
Stephen Tappeto (Merrick, N.Y.). Fresh into the game as a sub, Caldwell freshman forward Italo Cardoso (Monroe, N.J.) kept an errant pass from going out of bounds and found teammate Tom Yorston (Northamptonshire, United Kingdom) in the attacking zone. Yorston collected his first goal of the year by slotting the shot into the right corner past Tappeto to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The second half saw plenty of chances for the maroon and white, but no conversions. Hartmann continued to stonewall the Lions, saving shots from Franco,
Kyle Poetzsch (Hicksville, N.Y.) and
Joshua Zapata (West Babylon, N.Y.) before Caldwell would strike for a second goal. In the 68th minute, a corner kick from the home team would lead to a shot for freshman midfielder Kyle Hill (New Milford, N.J.). Hill's effort was stopped by Tappeto, but the rebound landed at the waiting Yorston, who converted his second goal of the game and gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
From there, Molloy would begin the seemingly impossible task of climbing out from underneath a two-goal deficit. Two minutes after falling behind by a pair of goals, a Caldwell foul inside the box gave the maroon and white their second penalty kick of the game. This time, however, junior forward
Mosiah Whyte (Coram, N.Y.) struck with true aim and beat Hartmann to cut the lead to one. The marker was Whyte's third of the season and third in two games in a Molloy uniform.
Looking for the all-important equalizer, the Lions would take several chances before the 80th minute, but shots by Whyte and
Lucas Munoz (Hicksville, N.Y.) were swept aside by Hartmann. The maroon and white would finally convert with eight minutes to play, as Poetzsch chipped in a pass from sophomore defenseman
Dale McNevin (Centereach, N.Y.) from 25 yards out to knot the score at two. The scoreboard would read 2-2 all the way to the end of the second half, setting up the first overtime period.
Caldwell would nearly steal the contest just 90 seconds into the overtime period as freshman forward Joaquin Escudero (San Sebastian, Spain) thundered a shot attempt off the crossbar. This would be the only chance the Cougars would get on goal in the extra session, as the tandem of Poetzsch and Whyte would send Molloy to the promised land. In the 96th minute, Whyte played a cross into the box for Poetzsch, who in turn pumped a shot attempt into the upper left corner of the net. Poetzsch's second goal of the contest was the golden goal that allowed Molloy to complete the miraculous comeback and send the Lions to their second consecutive win.
Molloy would win the battle of the shots by a 19-13 margin, and the Lions took an overwhelming 17 shots on net. Likewise, Caldwell was credited for just six shots on goal in the contest. The maroon and white conceded a total of 13 corner kicks in the match, including 10 in the second half of action alone. Meanwhile, Molloy won eight corners in the near-96 minutes of action. Comparing goalie stats, Caldwell's Hartmann stopped an impressive 14 shots while Tappeto had four critical saves for Molloy in the victory.
Head Coach
Danny Longo and the Molloy College men's soccer team will look for a third straight road win as the team heads up to New Hampshire for a Saturday (Sept. 12) night showdown with Franklin Pierce. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
