Men's Soccer Battles to 2-2 Tie Against St. Anselm
MANCHESTER, N.H. (Sept. 15, 2009)– The C.W. Post men's soccer team battled to a hard-fought 2-2 tie against the St. Anselm Hawks on Wednesday afternoon behind freshman Betim Bajrami (Helsingborg, Sweden), who had a hand in both goals.
The Pioneers now stand at 2-3-1 overall while St. Anselm moves to 0-5-1.
The Pioneers drew first blood as senior midfielder Kris Frick (Bermuda) lofted a long pass upfield to Bajrami, who shot the ball just past Hawk goalkeeper John Corridan (Holliston, Mass.) into the right side of the net, to put C.W. Post on top, 1-0.
Seven minutes later, at 18:34, the Hawks had their first big chance as Keesen Howe (Norwich, Conn.) sent a corner kick across the field to Paul Kilday (Marshfield, Mass.), who took a hard shot but it was saved by Pioneer keeper Shane Flanagan (Dublin, Ireland). In the following minute, the Pioneers, looking to increase their lead, had a similar opportunity, wherein Niclas Dahlin (Kungalv, Sweden) sent a crossing pass from close in the box to Bajrami, but he just missed it.
The rest of the half was quiet, until at 44:43, with just 17 seconds remaining in the half, St. Anselm forward Jeff Dell'Orfano (N. Andover, Mass.) knocked a crossing shot into the right corner of the net to tie the game at one apiece just before halftime.
C.W. Post reclaimed the lead early in the second half, as Pioneer graduate student Jetone Shoshi (East Hampton, N.Y.) booted home a pass from Bajrami. The Pioneers hung on to their lead for close to 20 minutes until, at 79:16, Cliff Parker placed a throw-in to the center of the box where sophomore Joshua Rocco (North Reading, Mass.) headed in the ball and tied the game at two.
Both teams had some key opportunities to win the game in the last ten minutes of regulation, but neither team was able to convert. With seven minutes remaining, Rocco had a quick breakaway drive down the field, but right before he could get open for a shot, the goalie fought for the ball and cleared it out. Pioneer Dahlin had a similar late breakaway drive, which was broken up single-handedly by Andrew Parker (East Haddam, Conn.). At 88:45, Cliff Parker took another throw-in close to the net, but this time the defense was able to clear it out. Finally, with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation, Dahlin got open for another breakaway shot, but Corridan made a great save to send the game into overtime.
The first overtime period was uneventful, each team only taking one shot. In the second overtime period, the Pioneers outshot the Hawks 5-1, but neither team could make it past the backline, and the game eventually ended in a tie.
Flanagan made five saves in the net, and Corridan knocked away nine for the Hawks.
C.W. Post returns to action on Saturday, September 19, to open East Coast Conference action with a 7 p.m. faceoff at Dowling College.
Thanks to St. Anselm Athletics for story information.