In a battle of two teams ranked top 10 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches, Messiah University narrowly escaped with a 2-1 victory over New York University's Men's Soccer Team on Saturday, September 25, at Gaelic Park. The Violets picked up their first loss of 2021 as the Falcons, who have won 11 national championships, remain undefeated this season.
"We don't lose, we learn. We'll be able to take a lot of good stuff from this game," said Head Coach
Kim Wyant. "For us to compete and make it a winnable game against a team that has won 11 national championships and always goes to the postseason, we're in a good place."
Both sides swarmed each other's attackers all game in a very physical contest, as NYU (6-1-1) outshot the Falcons 7-4 in the first half. However, Messiah (5-0-2) converted on its third chance of the game when Grant Johnson took it himself from the top left corner of the box and fired a shot into the back of the net in the 19th minute.
Johnson's tally held up for the remainder of the first half as the visitors led 1-0 at intermission.
The Falcons added to their advantage soon after the break (62') when Zackary Venus found Matt McDonald on a cross, who tapped it past NYU keeper
Luca Mancuso (Miami, FL/Montverde Academy) from 10 yards out in the center of the box.
The Violets continued to apply pressure and got on the scoreboard in the 84th minute when
Bryce Lexow (Rydal, PA/Abington Senior) headed the ball in the box, finding the foot of
Nicholas Suter (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor) who pushed it into the bottom right corner of the net for his second goal of the year.
The Violets moved their backline up and fought for an equalizer, maintaining possession for most of the final six minutes. However, the Falcons held off NYU's attack and snuck away with a hard-fought victory.
"What it came down to for me was that it was won and lost in the final third," added Wyant. "We had too many opportunities that we didn't finish and they had a few that they did."
NYU returns to the pitch on Saturday, October 2, as they open University Athletic Association (UAA) play on the road against Case Western Reserve University. Kickoff from Cleveland, OH, is set for 1:30 pm.
