NEWBURGH, NY – Polytechnic Institute of NYU freshman Omar Guerrero (Austin, Texas) scored the game-winning goal in the seventh minute of overtime to send the Blue Jays to a 1-0 win over Mount Saint Mary College. The Blue Knights dropped to 5-6-1 overall and to 1-4-0 in the Skyline Conference, while NYU-Poly bumped to 6-8-1 overall and to 2-3-1 in the conference.
Trailing 1-0 after the first half, Mount Saint Mary dominated the second half of play, outshooting the Blue Jays by a margin of 11-2. Sophomore
Francesco Marando (Slate Hill, N.Y.) tied the game in the 52nd minute, finishing off a rebound to the far post.
With the chances piling up for the Blue Knights, freshman
Ku Lekaj (New Milford, Conn.) nearly won it in the 81st minute, launching a low, hard shot that forced a diving save by the NYU-Poly goalkeeper. Freshman
Drew Altieri (Voorheesville, N.Y.) had a chance in the closing seconds of regulation, but his shot was pressured wide by the goalkeeper and a defender.
In the opening seconds of overtime, Altieri had another golden opportunity to finish off the game, but his shot from the top of the box sailed over the crossbar. Freshman
Kevin Ryan (West Islip, N.Y.) forced a nice save in the 93rd minute and Marando’s attempt to finish off the rebound hit the post on the far side of the frame.
After an extended period of time in the NYU-Poly end, the Blue Jays finally countered in the 96th minute. Freshman Nick Belesis (Marblehead, Mass.) controlled the ball and then played a nice diagonal pass to Guerrero. The freshman ran onto the feed and ripped a perfect shot to the upper corner of the goal to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 victory.
NYU-Poly junior Volkan Turgut (Rochester, N.Y.) put the Blue Jays on top in the 14th minute. A pass from freshman Allen Rohr (Northridge, Calif.) found Turgut’s head in the box, and Turgut finished off the play to the near post.
Senior goalkeeper Rob Petri (St. Louis, Mo.) made eight saves to collect the victory for NYU-Poly. Senior
Paul Aries (Nashua, N.H.) made four saves for the Mount.
Up next for the Blue Knights is a crucial Skyline Conference matchup with Purchase College. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 22.