(09-26-07)
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Mercy College's Nizar Chahbani scored the game-winner in the 67th minute to lift his team to a 2-1 East Coast Conference men's soccer victory over University of New Haven on Wednesday afternoon at Kayo Field.
The Charger men (2-6-0, 1-2-0 ECC) made their debut at the brand new Kayo Field, with junior John Nolan scoring the men's first-ever goal at the artificial turf field on the school's main campus. Jessey Fernandez crossed the ball from the left side of the goal, and Nolan hit a low, hard shot that deflected off a defender's leg and into the goal.
"Kayo Field is a great environment and a huge addition to what we hope to be building in the future with the men's soccer program," said head coach Joshua Krusewski. "This should be a great recruiting tool for our school and our program. There are not too many places around that have such a tight-knit environment where the fans are right in the action. You have to love to play there."
But Mercy held the Chargers scoreless for the remainder of the game despite a flurry of shots on both sides, as the Mavericks improved to 3-1-2 overall and 1-0-0 in the ECC. In a statistical oddity, this was the first game this season for UNH that did not involve one team or another getting shut out.
Raldino Powell's first goal of the season equalized the contest at the 24:14 mark of the first half after he converted a hard shot from the left side into the lower right of the goal. Chahbani's game-winner, which was also his first of the season, came on a breakaway along the left side. He touched the ball into the lower left corner to beat UNH.
The Chargers out-shot Mercy 34-29 overall, including an 18-11 advantage in the second half as UNH tried for the comeback. Mercy goalkeeper Carl Spence made 10 saves on the afternoon, while UNH's James Hilaire stopped 14 shots and Charger defender Nick Dionne cleared a certain goal off the end line.
"I thnk we had plenty of chance to win the game, and we didn't," Krusewski said. "We let the game drag out and then individuals tried to do too much on their own - and you can't be successful doing that."
UNH continues ECC play this Saturday with a trip to New York Institute of Technology, then returns to campus for three straight home games next week (Oct. 2, 6 and 7).
