WEST HAVEN, Conn - After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 23rd minute, the University of New Haven men's soccer team led in three unanswered goals and suffered a 3-2 non-conference defeat to Saint Thomas Aquinas Tuesday afternoon at Kayo Field.
Andres Torres (MedellÃn, Colombia/Norwalk (Conn.) / Adelphi University) and
Louis Greenway Tambini (Nottingham, England/Trinity School) netted goals for the Chargers, while
Bobby Cruz (Lake Grove, N.Y./Centereach) and
Will Richard (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) each handed out assists.
The Chargers fall to 1-5-0 on the season, while the Spartans improve to 2-2-2.
Tambini and
Sal DiTommaso (Farmington, Conn./Farmington / Central Connecticut State University) led the Chargers with three shots apiece in the loss. In goal,
Marc Scelsa (Islip, N.Y./Islip) made a number of saves to keep the Blue and Gold in the game and finished with stops.
It didn't take long for Torres to give the Chargers their first lead of the afternoon as he buried a crossing pass from Cruz in the fifth minute. Three minutes later, Richard hit the crossbar on another offensive chance for UNH. The Chargers took a two-goal lead in the 23rd minute when Tambini took one-touch off a Richard pass and sunk the ball in the lower right corner of the STAC net.
Five minutes later, Saint Thomas Aquinas got on the board with a Julius Werner score. UNH held control of the match for much of the remaining 18 minutes of the first half a led 2-1 at the break.
The Spartans made halftime adjustments and began to control possession more in the early minutes of the second stanza. The equalizer came in the 50th minute from Duncan Kasibante with his third goal of the season, beating the Chargers with a shot to the upper 90 off a set piece just outside of the 18-yard box.
The go-ahead goal came 15 minutes later when Michael Corbi scored off a UNH deflection inside the 18-yard box beating Scelsa to the lower right half of the frame.
The Chargers recorded three opportunities in the final minutes, but came up empty and suffered their fifth loss of the season.
New Haven returns to Kayo Field for its next contest on Saturday, Sept. 27 against Saint Anselm. The Northeast-10 Conference match will kickoff at 1 p.m.
