WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -
The Monmouth University men's soccer team rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the second half to post a 2-1 win over Long Island in Northeast Conference play on Friday afternoon, as senior
Damon Wilson (Swedesboro, N.J./St. Andrew's) and freshman
Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) registered the scores. The Hawks improve to 7-2-2 on the season and 2-0 in the NEC with the victory, while LIU falls to 2-6-2, 0-2-1 NEC.
After a scoreless first 90 minutes, the Blackbirds got on the scoreboard first, as a long ball was played to Jukka Lehto off a squandered Monmouth corner kick opportunity. Lehto, who snuck in behind Monmouth freshman Bryan Davis (Glen Gardner, N.J./Voorhees), drilled a shot on goal, which was originally saved by goalkeeper Daniel Schenkel (Campo Verde, Brazil). The rebound came right back to Lehto, who walked the ball into the net, putting LIU ahead 1-0 at 58:00.
Wilson knotted the match at 71:21 when he corralled a ball wide to the left, beat a defender by cutting back into the box, and beat LIU's Alex Fatovic into the far netting for his fifth goal of the year. Kinne registered the game-winner 5:07 later as he chipped Fatovic from the right side, and the ball went in off the far post. Kinne's score was his second of the season, and second straight game-winning goal in NEC play.
"Today is what NEC soccer is all about," said head coach Robert McCourt. "A difficult, hard-fought match. I knew it would take a special moment to win, and we got two in the second half on Damon and Ryan's goals."
Monmouth outshot LIU 17-13 in the game and held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. LIU, which played a man down for the final 29:25 due to a straight red card, got its first goal of the season from Lehto.
Schenkel made six saves between the pipes for the Hawks, and was helped by teammate Daniel Bostock (Nottinghamshire, England), who cleared a ball off the line at 31:23, off a shot by Vincenzo Conigliaro. Fatovic made seven saves for the Blackbirds.
Monmouth, which increased its Northeast Conference unbeaten streak to 21 matches (16-0-5), dating back to the 2004 season, returns to action on Sunday, October 14, when the Hawks host St. Francis (N.Y.) in Northeast Conference action at 1 p.m., on The Great Lawn.
