Clinging to a one-point lead atop the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings, New York University's Men's Soccer Team hosted the University of Rochester on Friday, October 29, at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, NY.

The crisp October air brought with it intense Association action in a pivotal late-season matchup as the Violets (10-3-1, 4-1-0) came away with a 2-0 victory to strengthen their hold on first place.

"Rochester is always a very good team, especially with the area walls in the box," said Head Coach Kim Wyant. "We had to weather a storm for awhile, but overall a super performance by the back line of Connor Reynolds (Farmington, CT/Avon Old Farms), Isaiah Boyd (Charlotte, NC/Mallard Creek), Ben Trask (San Diego, CA/Sage Creek) and the man of the match Louis Meeks (Ann Arbor, MI/Greenhills School)."

Each side had a chance in the first 12 minutes, but New York struck first in the 15th when Nathan Bennett (Wilton, CT/Wilton) floated a ball into the box that was tapped past the diving keeper by Oliver Kleban (Denver, CO/Blind Brook).
 
It was Kleban's seventh goal of his senior season and the 1-0 score remained through halftime, with NYU leading 5-4 in shots.

Rochester (8-4-3, 2-4-0) kept fighting, seeking the equalizer in the second half, but the Violets' stout back line held them without a shot over the final 45 minutes.

"We took our chances in the final third, kept them under pressure and handled these area walls very well that were coming in behind us," added Wyant.

The Yellowjackets defense stepped up in the second as well with Santino Lupica-Tondo collecting six saves in the period.

However, with the game clock approaching zero, Reynolds cleared the ball ahead and found Talal Said (Amman, Jordan/King's Academy) on a breakaway, who then tapped a shot past Lupica-Tondo just before the buzzer to give the Violets a 2-0 triumph.

Arkan Tahsildaroglu (Istanbul, Turkey/Berkshire School (MA)) attempted a game-high 11 shots while Said got off four and Bennett had three. Luca Mancuso (Miami, FL/Montverde Academy) saved the only shot he saw on goal en route to his sixth shutout of the season.

NYU returns to the pitch for another pivotal UAA contest on Halloween Sunday, October 31. The Violets host Emory University at Gaelic Park at 1:30 pm.