Floyd and Diop Score In 3-1 Blue Devil Victory

Juniors Eddie Floyd and Hadji Diop scored goals and the Central Connecticut (9-6-2, 3-4-1) men's soccer team came from behind to defeat Mount St. Mary's (9-8-0, 5-3-0), 3-1, on Friday afternoon at the CCSU Soccer Field. Diop scored the game-winner off an assist from sophomore Connor Smith. The score marked the first for Diop as a Blue Devil.

The Blue Devils came out aggressive in the first half, out-shooting Mount St. Mary's 12 to six. CCSU also recorded eight corner kicks to the Mount's one and tallied nine fouls, while Mount St. Mary's notched five.

It was the Mountaineers that scored first when a Mount St. Mary's shot was blocked and rebounded out to sophomore Eric Detzel, in the 38th minute of the first half. The midfielder fired a shot that deflected off of a CCSU defender and landed in the back of the net to give the Mount a 1-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later the Blue Devils evened things up when an errant CCSU pass was headed backward by a Mount St. Mary's defender. The headed ball went over goalkeeper Chris Davis's head and into the net, to tie the game at 1-1.

Diop got his chance one minute after the Blue Devils tied the gamel when Smith played a ball across the box. The New York, NY native slid in from the six yard line to push the ball in for what ended up being the game-winning goal. Transferring into Central from Borough of Manhattan Community College this season, the goal marked the first of Diop's young career as a Blue Devil. The assist was the third on the season for Smith.

The Blue Devils started the second half right where they left off in the first, increasing their lead to 3-1 in the 59th minute. Sophomore Robert Cavener crossed a ball through the box and Floyd volleyed it off of one touch straight into the net. Floyd now has two goals and two assists this year for a career high six points.

CCSU never let up, fighting for every inch until the horn sounded at 90 minutes. The Blue Devils finished with 21 shots to Mount St. Mary's 16. Central also recorded 12 corners, while the Mount tallied seven. Mount St. Mary's goalkeeper Davis ended the match with a game high seven saves. CCSU goalkeepers Paul Armstrong and Chris Jones split time in the net and finished with two and three saves, respectively.

Central Connecticut improves to 9-6-2 on the season and will next be hosting Monmouth on Sunday November 9 at 2:00 p.m. Sunday's contest will be the last regular season home game for Blue Devils seniors Yan Klukowski, David Tyrie, Ben Howe and Nick Soares. The Mount falls to 9-8 this year and will next be playing at Quinnipiac for their last regular season contest.