MORRISTOWN, N.J. (August 30, 2019) - The FDU men's soccer team kicked off their 2019 season on Friday afternoon with a 5-1 victory over The Saint Elizabeth College Eagles.
The victory is the first for Head Coach
Keith O'Connor at the helm of the Devils' program.
FDU peppered the Eagles from the start, attempting the first six shots of the contest. After St. Elizabeth responded with consecutive shots, the Devils broke through in the 33
rd minute. After breaking free from defenders, junior
Brandon McGregor used a strong individual effort to give FDU the edge.
Both teams would fail to score in the remaining time of the half to give the Devils the 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. The Devils held a 9-3 edge in shots over the opening 45 minutes, while each side committed eight fouls.
Just 30 seconds after the Eagles bagged an equalizing tally, junior
Jonathan Rodriguez gave the lead back to the Devils for good off a double assist from junior
Ricky La Stella and sophomore
Michael Rosario. The Rodriguez tally led to four straight goals by FDU to close out the second half.
In the 65
th minute graduate student
Anthony Pares added to the lead as he connected off a McGregor corner kick. Junior
Shaun Bishop took advantage of a penalty kick in the 83
rd minute to extend the Devils lead to 4-1. Freshman
Riley Powers rang a shot off the post in the 84
th minute, but he closed out the scoring with an unassisted goal with 47 seconds remaining.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- FDU out-shot the Eagles 24-6, including a 15-3 margin in the second half.
- McGregor recorded a goal and an assist while leading the team with four shot attempts.
- Powers and Rodriguez each netted their first collegiate goals.
- FDU held CSE to zero shots on goal in the contest.
- The Devils finished the contest with a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT
The Devils look to continue their winning ways as they hit the field next on Wednesday September 4 at William Paterson University at 7 p.m..
