By Eric Brod
Senior Writer
The Bison men’s soccer team rebounded with two impressive victories at home this week over La Salle and Saint Francis (Pa.) after a tough loss to Binghamton this past weekend.
On Sunday, the Orange and Blue captured their second victory of the season with an exhilarating 2-1 overtime win over the visiting LaSalle Explorers. The victory came when Mayowa Alli ’14 netted his second goal of the game, just 48 seconds into overtime.
Although the Bison took 16 of the game’s first 17 shots, they fell behind on a LaSalle goal with 2:27 left in the first half. The Explorers’ lead was short-lived because with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, the Orange and Blue responded with a goal on a spectacular diving header from Alli.
Neither team was able to break the tie in the following half, forcing the Bison into overtime for the first time in their young season. The extra session didn’t last long as Alli netted his second goal, a header off a corner kick, which hit the back corner to give the team its second win of the season.
Last Thursday, the Bison erupted for three first-half goals en route to a 4-1 victory over Saint Francis. The Orange and Blue completely dominated play in the first half, outshooting their opponent 12-2. Alli scored first, 11:17 into the game, off a diving assist by Nader Sawtarie ’12. The Bison’s second goal came when Ryan Sappington ’12 scored off a pass from Luke Joyner ’12.
Making his collegiate debut, Pat Plourde ’15 scored the third goal of the first half with 1:58 left. After Saint Francis got on the scoreboard early in the second half to cut the deficit to two goals, the Bison added one more goal in the 80th minute to finish their highest scoring contest since a 5-1 victory over St. Peters in Oct. 2009.
Even with the success of the week, Alli feels the team still has its best games ahead of it. “I think defensively we were more organized, with the exception of the the goal we let in. But there are still things we need to work on to get to the level of play we know we are capable of,” the defender said.
The team returns to action next weekend when it travels to South Bend, Ind. to face No. 18 Indiana in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.
