WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven was in search of their third consecutive victory, but the Molloy College Lions thwarted those plans after erasing a 2-0 deficit in the second half to take down the Chargers, 3-2 in overtime Wednesday afternoon at Kayo Field.
New Haven looked great in the first half, only needing 11 minutes to score as sophomore
Brian Silhan (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) chipped forward a pass to classmate
Nate Peduzzi (Old Lyme, Conn./Lyme-Old Lyme) who found the lower left corner for his first goal of the season.
Molloy missed their first major opportunity just eight minutes later when sophomore keeper
Stefano Lorusso (Auckland, New Zealand/Sacred Heart College) dove right and stopped a penalty shot in the lower left corner to preserve the lead. The Chargers would then stretch the lead exactly 50 minutes later on a corner kick from graduate student
Simao Sousa Branca (Porto, Portugal/Colegio Luso Internacional do Porto) who connected with junior
Pablo Perez (Medellin, Columbia/West Haven) for a textbook header to the top left corner of the mesh.
The shots category saw the Chargers with a 9-8 edge in the first half with three shots on goal belonging to New Haven.
Molloy snapped the shutout in the 63
rd minute as Lorusso was beat on a shot to the lower left corner. With ten minutes remaining in regulation, Molloy intercepted a Charger pass and dribbled forward up the pitch and sent a cross into the box that was put home to level the score, 2-2. Molloy dominated throughout the remainder of the half, pressuring the Chargers with 16 total shots in the second frame.
Peduzzi got a shot on target first in overtime, but the Lions ended all hopes of the Chargers victory when the ball was served from midfield and put past Lorusso to the left corner for the game-winning goal.
Next on the schedule for New Haven is Saint Anselm on Saturday, October 7
th at 2:00 pm. Match time against the Hawks in Melucci Field in Manchester, N.H. is set for 2:00 pm. For fans who are unable to attend, live stats and video will be available on www.saintanselmhawks.com.