Men's Soccer Clipped 1-0 at St. Francis Brooklyn on Double Overtime Penalty Kick
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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – After 107 minutes of hard-fought soccer, a penalty kick decided the outcome of University at Albany's (4-3-1) Saturday afternoon match at St. Francis Brooklyn (7-0-2). The Great Danes fell 1-0 to the Terriers at Brooklyn Bridge Park on the East River.
“No one likes to lose a game after 107 minutes on a late-game decision,” said head coach Trevor Gorman. "We played very hard away from home against an undefeated team, and we felt we deserved at least a tie as a result. The wind was a tremendous factor today, and I'm proud of how we battled through that adversity.”
St. Francis Brooklyn held the edge early on the offensive end, testing UAlbany goalkeeper Danny Vitiello on four occasions in the opening 25 minutes. The Danes countered with the first and only corner kick of the period, but Martin Gorrie couldn't find a target at the six-yard box.
Of seven shots taken by the Terriers in the opening 45 minutes, five were on goal. Bernardo Mattos and Jeff Medina helped Vitiello keep the St. Francis Brooklyn offense at bay on the back line late in the half.
The teams combined for 18 total fouls in the first half, foreshadowing a physical second period. The Terriers again came out with the momentum to start the period, tallying seven shots and five corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the second stanza.
Philip Persson would serve up UAlbany's second and final corner kick in the 61st minute, but the senior co-captain couldn't connect with a Dane on the other end.
With regulation time winding down, Carlos Clark and Mattos had the final quality looks for the Purple & Gold in the first 90 minutes.
Frustrated by arguably the top defense in the country, Afonso Pinheiro made his first shot on target in the 96th minute, and Jonathan Interiano followed up with a look of his own.
Three yellow cards were dished out in extra time, capped off by a red card to Mattos for preventing a scoring opportunity with a handball in the 18-yard box in the 108th minute. Terrier captain Cyril Coisne stepped up to bury the game-winning penalty kick.
Danny Vitiello made a career-high 12 saves in the loss, the most stops for a UAlbany goalkeeper in a single game since 2011.
UAlbany returns to Bob Ford Field on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m., to face in-state rival Hartwick (4-2-2).
