Men's Soccer Advances in NJAC Tourney
UNION, N.J. (10/28/06) - Kean University
freshman forward Mbemba Ceesay (North Brunswick,
N.J.) and sophomore back Christian Raigoza
(Paterson, N.J.) scored less than five minutes apart, as
the Cougars rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Richard
Stockton College, 2-1, in New Jersey Athletic Conference men's
soccer quarterfinal action on Saturday evening. The victory
improves fourth-seeded Kean to 9-6-5 overall, while the Ospreys
drop to 13-5-2 this season.
The Cougars advance to the semifinals, where they face top-seeded
Montclair State University on Tuesday, October 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Richard Stockton took an early 1-0 lead, as junior midfielder
Matt Lewis (Bear, Del.) one-timed a shot from the
left side off the assist from junior midfielder AJ
Colubiale (Cape May, N.J.).
Playing with a stiff wind at their back in the second half, the
Cougars tied the game in the 60th minute, after a pair of Cougar
shots were initially saved by Stockton sophomore keeper
Matt Hart (Dayton, N.J.). Ceesay picked up the
saved deflection of junior midfielder Damien Serafin's shot, and
one-timed it from the left side into the upper right corner of the
net.
Less than five minutes later, junior midfielder Thomas Fink
(Hamilton, N.J.) served a ball to the center of the box
that sophomore back Thomas Azydzik (Clark, N.J.)
chest-passed to Raigoza, who fired the shot from about 20-yards out
for the game-winner.
The Cougars held off Stockton down the stretch, despite playing a
man-down for the 23 minutes after a Kean player received a red
card.
In the game, the Ospreys held a slight 14-13 edge in shots, while
Kean had a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Hart stopped six shots for Richard Stockton, while Kean junior
keeper Kyle Crego (Ocean City, N.J.) made three
saves.
