Box Score

The New York University men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to William Paterson University, giving up a 1-0 lead in the final minutes of regulation and ultimately falling 2-1 in double overtime on Thursday, September 8, on the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ.

Joe Strawman scored the tying goal for the home Pioneers (3-0-1) with just 2:14 left in regulation, and Naeem Boucher netted the game winner midway through the second overtime period.

The contest was the Violets' (0-2-1) third straight to open the season against an opponent that, like them, reached the NCAA Division III Championship last year, and the second straight in which it could not hold onto to a 1-0 advantage. All three games were away from home, with this one moved to a neutral site at NJIT because of poor conditions on William Paterson's grass field.

“That's two games in a row that we gave away 1-0 leads,” said NYU head coach Joe Behan. “We have a lot of work to do putting games away, but we won't lie down.”

Neither side was lying down in the early going of this contest. But after a scoreless first half, it was NYU that struck first. In the 52nd minute, Adam Fein won a ball in the midfield, raced down the right side and tapped a shot past the William Paterson goalkeeper to give the Violets a 1-0 lead.

Though the Pioneers kept pressuring, NYU appeared on its way to victory. But, in the 88th minute, Wes Ostrzycki took a shot that was blocked, Strawman collected the loose rebound directly in front and buried the ball into the back of the net to tie the game in stunning fashion.

Neither side could muster much offense in the first overtime period, but William Paterson broke through midway through the second extra session. Michael Encarnacion won the ball in the midfield and fed a pass to Boucher on the left side of the box. Boucher then curled a shot into the upper right corner, giving the Pioneers the golden goal and the shocking come-from-behind win.

NYU will look to get back on the winning track on Monday when it hosts the City College of New York in the Violets' home opener. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 pm at Gaelic Park.