Men's Soccer Draws With NJIT, 0-0, on Wednesday
Blue Devils earn first shutout of the season.
Central Connecticut and NJIT settled for a 0-0 tie on Wednesday night in men's soccer action at CCSU Soccer Field. Both teams had chances to get on the board, but were unable to succesfully convert in an evenly played match.
The Blue Devils go to 3-5-3 on the year, while the Highlanders are now 2-5-2.
Central held the majority of the possession for much of the opening half and sophomore Filosmar Cordeiro got behind the NJIT defense in the 32nd minute for the first scoring chance, but his attempt was saved by Marco Luna.
The Highlanders were able to settle in as the game wore on and managed to get a pair of shots on frame in the opening half, but senior Josef Abele was up to the task and made a pair of saves.
Senior Ben LaVallee entered the game in goal for CCSU just past the hour mark. NJIT challenged him with a pair of opportunities a short time later when Joshua Mercer got off a shot in the 78th minute and then Mamadou Guirassy had another chance with 9:00 to play, but LaVallee was up to the challenge and made both stops.
In the first overtime, sophomore Ryan Taylor made a dangerous run up the right side for CCSU, but found himself with a tough angle and his shot was forced into the side netting. LaVallee stopped a shot by Rickardo Oldham just before the end of the period to force a second overtime.
With just under two minutes to play, Cordeiro got by the NJIT defense but his shot was sent into the side netting as well. In the final 15 seconds, Taylor raced in on net down the right side with only the goalkeeper to beat, but his shot scooted just wide by the far post.
NJIT finished with a slim edge in shots, 16-14. Abele and LaVallee combined for six saves to secure the shutout for CCSU. Luna finished with five saves for the Highlanders.
The Blue Devils open Northeast Conference action with a home game against the defending champions, St. Francis Brooklyn, on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:00 p.m. on CCSU Soccer Field.
