WEST HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven men's soccer defeated LIU 3-1 on Sunday behind
Andres Lazo's (Montville, N.J./Montville) goal in the 79th minute to break a 1-1 tie. Lazo netted his team-leading fourth goal of the year, which is the second most in the Northeast Conference. New Haven also saw tallies from
Matheus Guimaraes () and
Londell Wheeler (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove).
The Chargers absorbed early pressure in the first half, with
Shane Antao (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial) making saves in the fifth and 10th minutes as LIU generated the first run of shots. The Blue & Gold earned an early corner and later worked through a physical stretch from 11:10 to 14:43 that included four LIU fouls, with
Trevor Pegg (Darien, Conn./Darien) putting a shot on frame during that span.
Filipe Lemos (Ponte de Barca, Viana do Castelo, Portugal/Escola Secundária de Ponte da Barca) added another saved attempt in the 32nd minute, and Antao kept the match scoreless with a third save in the 37th. The Chargers pushed again late, as
Cristopher Arias (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) forced a save in the 44th minute before a corner kick and a
Vinicius Lemke (Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil/Colégio Marista) shot that went wide, leaving the first half without a goal.
The Blue & Gold broke a 1-1 tie late, with Lazo scoring at 79:30 before
Matheus Guimaraes () finished
Ali Taleb's (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) assist at 82:49 to make it 3-1. Earlier,
Londell Wheeler (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) gave the Chargers a quick second-half lead at 46:17, scoring off assists from
Aiden Williams-McCracken (West Stockbridge, Mass./South Kent) and Pegg. LIU pressed for stretches, forcing Antao saves in the 48th and 59th minutes and earning five straight corner kicks from 69:28 to 70:52 before Baxter Hanley scored from Mika Leue at 71:27 to tie it 1-1. The Chargers answered with pressure of their own, getting a saved Taleb shot and a Wheeler attempt just before Lazo's goal, then adding saved shots by Taleb and
Gage Estep (Birmingham, Ala./Homewood) after Guimaraes' finish. Antao added another save in the 82nd minute, and the Blue & Gold saw out the final minutes for a 3-1 win.
Lazo scored the game-winning goal on his only shot. Wheeler scored and led the Chargers with three shots. Guimaraes added a goal on his lone shot. Antao recorded six saves while playing all 90 minutes in goal. Antao recorded his first career win with this performance.
For the second straight year, New Haven starts 1-0 in the Northeast Conference.
Up next, the Chargers will travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to face Le Moyne College on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m.
