WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven men’s soccer team played Bentley University even through nearly 110 minutes, but a late score, in
the 108th minute, lifted the visiting Falcons to a narrow 2-1 victory at Kayo Field Sunday afternoon. With the loss, New Haven fell to 0-7-2 overall and 0-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Bentley improved to 6-2-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
A majority of the first period was played with exchanges in the midfield, the Chargers were the first to strike. In the 41st minute, New Haven’s Steven Gennuso (Middletown, Conn./Xavier ) received the ball near midfield and laced a through ball down the right half of the field for teammate Joseph D’Antonio (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside ). The Oceanside, N.Y. native then out-ran the defense and with one touch put the ball through the legs of Bentley’s goalkeeper. The Chargers’ held on to the 1-0 lead going into halftime.
The second half was back and forth once again as both teams struggled to get the ball into the 18-yard box. Bentley had a header shot saved just two minutes into the second half, while the Chargers had a number of breakaway passes get called back for offside. Bentley evened the score at 1-1 in the 67th minutes when Justin Cirasola scored off a ball which was deflected inside the UNH 8-yard box a number of different times. Both teams recorded scoring opportunities in the next 23 minutes, but neither team scored and overtime began.
In the first 10-minute overtime, both teams were held without a shot. A number of substitutions by both teams attempted to keep fresh legs on the field, but with no prevail. The second overtime stanza was once against shot less by both teams. Bentley’s game-winning goal was scored in the 108th minute off a miss-handled pass in the UNH backline which resulted in an own goal.
D’Antonio led New Haven with two shots, while Jacob Appelbaum (Saint Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Academy), Joel Rodriguez (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ), Tim Hines (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall), Dave Ljungquist (Oxford, Conn./Seymour) and Gennuso each tallied one shot. UNH goalkeeper J.J. Comeau (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ) led the game with six saves.
Bentley held an 11-7 advantage in shots, while both teams attempted three corner kicks.
The Chargers return to action on Wednesday, October 5 when they travel to Rockville Centre, N.Y. to take on Molloy College in a non-conference contest. Match time on Long Island is set for 7 p.m.
