Men's Soccer Ties With Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-1

The Central Connecticut men's soccer team and Fairleigh Dickinson tied, 1-1, on Sunday at CCSU Soccer Field in a Northeast Conference matchup. The Blue Devils' first half goal was matched by a Knights' tally after halftime.

Central's record goes to 2-9-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the NEC.

The Blue Devils opened the scoring just before halftime. Sophomore Quentin Lux sent a cross into the area from the right side that an FDU defender attempted to clear, but the ball came to freshman Andres Muriel Albino at the top of the area. Albino settled the ball and put his shot into the left side of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute.

The Knights nearly tied it early in the second half. Off of a corner kick, Patrick Nusstook a shot from near the penalty spot that went off the crossbar and Christian Nunez's followup header was saved by senior Nick Velleca.

FDU managed to tie the score with just under a half-hour to play. The Knights had a throw-in deep in the CCSU end and the ball came to Enver Caymaz who headed the ball down in front of the Blue Devils goal. Wojciech Piwowarczyk directed the ball into the net to make it 1-1 with 29:48 to play.

With just over 10 minutes to play the Blue Devils nearly took the lead when senior EJ Okoro intercepted an FDU clearance and laid off a pass for Albino who managed to get a shot off from close range, but it went off the crossbar and senior James Randall's follow-up header was saved.

In the second overtime, junior Ryan Taylor and Albino ran up the left wing pressuring the FDU defense. Taylor laid off a pass for Albino in the 18-yard box and Albino maneuvered to get off a shot, but Julian Murillo Toro made the save to preserve the tie.

Velleca made six saves for the Blue Devils. Central had a 20-15 edge in shots, while Fairleigh Dickinson had an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Central travels to Saint Francis U. on Friday, Oct. 28, for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff.