Box Score
The New York University men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against nationally ranked University of Rochester in both teams' University Athletic Association (UAA) opener on Saturday, October 2, at the College of Staten Island.
Both squads had plenty of chances in a thrilling back-and-forth battle, but in the end neither the Violets (5-2-2, 0-0-1) nor the Yellowjackets (6-0-4, 0-0-1) could find the back of the net.
The tie gave NYU a positive result against Rochester after losing the last three contests between the squads, all by the score of 1-0. It also moved the Violets' record against nationally ranked teams to 1-1-2 on the season, as the Yellowjackets entered the game ranked #8 in Division III by D3soccer.com and #14 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
“I thought we won the battle, but we just couldn't finish,” said head coach Joe Behan. “We have to be satisfied that we weren't beaten, but it's more about the performance. It was a good start [to UAA play].”
Matt Stieve played a tremendous game in goal for NYU, stopping a career-high 10 shots. The senior made a pair of fantastic saves in the first half, diving to his right to stop a low strike in the 6th minute and punching out a point-blank shot after a great bang-bang play by Rochester in the 22nd.
Stieve continued to shine in the second half and made a huge save with just 6:35 left in regulation. After a near-perfect strike on a long free kick, the Des Plaines, IL, native jumped and caught a shot headed for just under the crossbar with his fingertips. He added a pair of saves in overtime to preserve his third career shutout.
The Violets' best shots at the target came late in the second half. Niki Chow and Matt Newman both struck shots from a few yards outside the box that looked promising but went over the crossbar.
“I thought we battled really, really well, but we couldn't quite finish it off,” commented Behan.
NYU returns to action on Monday with a non-conference game against visiting Kean University. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Alumni Field on the campus of Rutgers University-Newark.
