Men's Soccer Falls at Stony Brook in Season-Opener
Blue Devils' unable to convert late scoring chances.
The Central Connecticut men's soccer team conceded a second-half goal and were stymied by the Stony Brook defense in a 1-0 defeat to open the season on Friday night in Stony Brook, NY. The Blue Devils had a pair of shots saved and hit the crossbar with another in the closing minutes as they fell to 0-1 on the season.
The teams played a scoreless first period, with the Seawolves holding an 8-1 edge in the shots. The Blue Devils had the first scoring chance of the night when senior Ben Knight forced a save by Jason Orban in the eighth minute. Senior Josef Abele kept SBU off the scoreboard with a pair of saves of his own in the opening period, including a stop off a shot by Breno Lustosa just before halftime.
Stony Brook broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute when Thibault Duval fed Martieon Watson who placed a shot to the far post to beat Abele and score the game-winner.
Central pressed to tie the game and created several chances in the final minutes. Senior Dominic Plant and sophomore Filosmar Cordeiro had consecutive shots blocked with just under 10 minutes to play, but CCSU's best opportunity would come just minutes later.
Following a yellow card to Stony Brook, the Blue Devils set up for a free kick in a dangerous position for SBU. Knight managed to get a head to the kick, but his shot hit the crossbar and a sophomore Luke Albertini's rebound from close-range was stopped by Orban. On a pair of ensuing corner kicks, Orban made two more saves to deny CCSU and protect the shutout.
Abele made three saves between the posts for the Blue Devils, while Orban had five stops for the Seawolves.
Central had an advantage in shots in the second half, but Stony Brook held an 18-12 edge for the game. Knight had three shots for CCSU and put a pair of them on goal.
The Blue Devils had seven corner kicks in the second half and held a 9-8 edge for the game.
The Blue Devils return to action with their home-opener on Sunday, September 6, against Massachusetts at 1 p.m. on CCSU Soccer Field.