Men's Soccer

NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Result
Saturday, October 14, 2006             

Two Second Half Goals Give Mercy Men's Soccer 2-1
Victory Over NYIT 

• Box Score

            DOBBS FERRY, NY - The Mercy College men's soccer team scored twice in the second half to come from behind for a 2-1 victory over visiting NYIT on Saturday. The Flyers improved to 5-5-1 overall and 3-2-1 in East Coast Conference play (ECC).  NYIT fell to 7-6-1 overall and 2-4-1 in league action.

            The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the 26^th minute as forward Peter Antoniades (London, England) scored on a header, converting a pass from midfielder Richard Ingram (Merthyr, Wales).

            NYIT held the one-goal advantage until the 71^st minute.  Mercy forward Omar Bowen (Montego Bay, Jamaica) was taken down in the penalty area after the Bears failed to clear the ball, and midfielder Alexandre Augusto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) stepped up to convert the penalty kick, knotting the contest at 1-1.

            NYIT had an opportunity to re-gain the lead in the 77^th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick after a Mercy defender was called for a handball in front of the goal. Mercy's freshman goalkeeper Carl Spence (St. Catherine, Jamaica) was up to the task though and stopped the attempt by Antoniades with a diving effort to his left.

            With just under eight minutes to go, midfielder Nizar Chabani (Menzel Bourguiba, Tunisia) picked up a loose ball in NYIT's end, broke free and buried what would be the game-winner in the lower right corner.

            NYIT held a 14-6 advantage in shots, but along with his stop on the penalty kick, Spence made several difficult saves, finishing with six in the game. Cosimo D'Agostino (Brampton, Ontario) made one save for NYIT.

            "This was a tremendous battle today and NYIT was a little unlucky," said Mercy's head coach Chris Gonzalez. "We never stopped working hard. We played to the end and got the result we needed.

            Mercy returns to action on October 17, at home versus New Haven beginning at 3:00 p.m.

NYIT (7-6-1, 2-4-1 ECC) vs. Mercy College (5-5-1, 3-2-1 ECC)
Date: Oct 14, 2006  Attendance: 75

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
--------------------------------------
NYIT........................  1  0 -  1
Mercy College...........  0  2 -  2 

SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  25:32 NYIT Antoniades, Peter (Ingram, Richard) - Header
  2.  70:46 MERCY Augusto, Alexandre Penalty kick - PK - hit low right
  3.  82:42 MERCY Chahbani, Nizar (unassisted) - break away - hit low right corner 

Shots: NYIT 14, Mercy College 6
Saves: NYIT 1 (D'Agostino, Cosimo 1), Mercy College 6 (Spence, Carl 6)