From University of Rochester Athletics
In a game that featured one of the best-looking goals at the Stadium this year and one of the strangest, Rochester edged Carnegie Mellon, 3-2, in a men's soccer match on Friday evening.
The win gives the Yellowjackets their first UAA victory of the season (1-1-1 overall). Rochester, ranked ninth in the Division III poll this week, is 8-1-2 overall. Carnegie Mellon is 9-2-1 overall, 1-1-1 in the UA. Both teams are tied with four points. On Sunday, Rochester hosts Case Western Reserve and CMU travels to Atlanta to play Emory.
UR fell behind 1-0 in the 20th minute,l bounced back to score twice in a span of 88 seconds in the second half, conceded a tying goal with 13 minutes left, then scored the gamewinner with less than 12 minutes remaining.
Patrick Conway made two saves in 90 minutes for Rochester. CMU's Alec Lam made three saves.
The Rochester goals came from Jeff Greblick, Geoffrey Rouin, and Michael Cross (he had the gamewinner). CMU's goals were scored by Anthony Gulli and Zack Masciopinto.
Gulli had the best-looking goal. The Tartans earned a corner kick in the 20th minute. From the left attacking corner, he lofted it and it curled into the upper right hand corner of the net. Conway, locked in a sea of bodies from both teams, had no chance to react.
Rochester stepped up the pressure after halftime. The Yellowjackets surged forward relentlessly and they finally broke through. Tanner Chester played the ball from the center of the pitch to Bryce Ikeda on the right. He dribbled forward, then pushed it into the path of Greblick who equalized from eight yards away.
The second UR goal was a misplay. The CMU defense tried to play the ball back to Lam to construct another attack. Rouin rushed after the ball, trying to intercept it. The backpass got past Lam five yards over midfield. Rouin ran by, stroked it once, then ran after it and rammed it into the goal from inside the crease just 1:28 after the Greblick equalizer.
Carnegie Mellon found the equalizer at 76:37. The Tartans were awarded a free kick along the right sideline. Philip Petrakian chipped it to the far post. Masciopinto rushed into the box and pushed it into the left corner of the goal.
Less than two minutes later, Greblick was in the middle of a flurry in the CMU box. The ball came loose. Cross reached it and slipped it under Lam in the right corner.
Each goalie came up big in the closing minutes. Gulli fired for the low left corner in the 82nd minute, but Conway made a nice sprawling save. Lam halted chances by Aleks Dombrowski with 2:30 left and denied Rouin's bid for a two-goal night in the last minute of play.