Cougars and #10 Stockton Battle to 0-0 Draw

Hillside, N.J. (9/16/06) - Kean University's Kyle Crego (Ocean, N.J.) saved a penalty kick with less than seven minute remaining in the second overtime to preserve a 0-0 draw against the 10th ranked Richard Stockton Ospreys in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's soccer opener on Saturday afternoon. With the tie, the Cougars record is 3-1-2 and 0-0-1 in the NJAC, while the Ospreys stand at 5-0-1 and 0-0-1 in conference play.

The fast paced physical game was a back-n-forth battle between two of the top teams in the region. Overall the Cougars held a 21-15 advantage in shots, with both keepers coming up with game-saving stops. With 6:17 left in the game a Cougar defender was called for a foul inside the box, which awarded Stockton a penalty kick. RSC's Eric Lewis (Dover, Del.) stepped up for the penalty kick and his shot to the left corner was stopped by Crego.

Earlier in the second overtime, the Cougars almost ended the game when in a flurry KU's Anthony Tuesta (Clifton, N.J.) sent a shot that goalie Matt Hart (Dayton, N.J.) saved. The rebound came to Damien Serafin (Wallington, N.J.) who sent a shot that went off the cross bar. The ball came back to Serafin who lofted a pass to the back post where Tuesta headed it in. However, Tuesta was called for an offsides and the goal was disallowed.

Crego finished the game with six saves, while Hart stopped eight shots in the shutout. The game did feature 60 fouls and 17 cards were handed out with Richard Stockton playing a man down for the final 18 minutes of the game.