The New York University Men's Soccer Team lengthened its lead atop the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings by defeating host Washington University in St. Louis 2-1 on Friday, October 15, in St  Louis, MO.

The Violets (9-2-1, 3-0 UAA) remained unbeaten in UAA play with the victory over the #9-ranked Bears (7-2-1, 1-1-1).

NYU has gone 2-0-2 against Wash U. in their last four meetings.

"We played with incredible intensity and showed a lot of resiliency tonight," said Head Coach Kim Wyant.

The Violets grabbed the lead 33:29 into the contest when Arkan Tahsildaroglu (Istanbul, Turkey/Berkshire School (MA)) scored his UAA-leading 11th goal of the season. Alex Rovirosa-Illa (Llinars del Valles, Barcelona/Hamelin Laie International ) received an assist after starting the action on a corner kick.

Rovirosa-Illa also helped create NYU's second goal, setting up Oliver Kleban (Denver, CO/Blind Brook) (now with six goals on the season) who scored from the top of the box to give the Violets a 2-0 lead at the 64:07 mark.

"I'm not a player who will score a lot of goals, but I try to pass and set up the forwards who all have the ability to finish," Rovirosa-Illa said. "This was a true team effort, and we played unified throughout the game." 

However, the Bears did not go quietly into the Midwestern night, cutting their deficit in half at 84:08 when Arman Sanchez-Conde scored with an assist from Sergio Rivas.

But, the Violet defense remained steadfast and extinguished any late-game comeback notions by the Bears.

"Phenomenal performance tonight. Every single player contributed," Wyant explained. "Daniel Comas-Sanchez (Miami, FL/Belen Jesuit Prep) provided a strong effort for us in the midfield. And, after losing on Tuesday, we were deflated but very determined to put forth a great effort tonight. We competed for the full 90 minutes." 

NYU controlled the tempo throughout most of the game, finishing with a 14-8 shot advantage which included an 8-2 lead in shots on goal. The Violets also finished with a huge advantage in corner kicks (9-4). 

The Violets now head to Chicago for a match-up with another UAA-opponent, the University of Chicago. The Windy City battle is scheduled for 1:30pm central time on Sunday.