| 9/4/2005 6:37:27 PM
Click For Boxscore
PITTSFORD, NY -- Jorge Ciurlizza (McLean, VA/Gonzaga)'s (McLean, VA/Gonzaga) goal in the second minute of overtime gave RIT a 2-1 win over Allegheny College in the Doug May Soccer Classic on Sunday. RIT went 1-1 on the weekend and improve to 2-1-0 overall.
RIT put pressure on Allegheny's defense early in the first half. Mike Lawson (Wall, NJ/Wall) (Wall, NJ/Wall) had a good look at a goal but was hauled down inside the penalty box but no call was made. Later in the half Mark Frisicano (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) had a shot but mis-hit the shot that never made it on goal. Head coach Bill Garno was pleased with the team's efforts in the first part of the contest.
"The first 30 minutes was some of the best soccer I've seen us play in a long time," said Garno. "We were playing really well at the end of last season but we looked even better today."
It was 0-0 at halftime with Allegheny holding a slight edge in shots, 6-5. RIT keeper Matt Klosner (Lowville, NY/Lowville Academy) (Lowville, NY/Lowville Academy) made to saves, and no goals allowed.
The second half opened with Allegheny being the agressors and putting pressure on RIT's defense. Allegheny's Jon Davis took a low hard shot off a free kick that Klosner was able to see and make the save.
Later on David Roberts got free and was one-on-one with Klosner. He came out to shut down the angle and made the save, keeping the game scoreless.
Then in the 60th minute Frisicano broke the scoreless tie with his first goal of the season. Sophomore Andrew Ong (Phuket, Thailand/SKL) (Phuket, Thailand/SKL) made a nice run down the left flank. He slid it to Ciurlizza who sent him clear. Ong got around his defender inside the penalty area and passed it to Frisicano who one-touched it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead.
RIT's lead lasted about 10 minutes as Robert DelGreco headed in a shot f from David Recker off a corner kick, tying the game at 1-1.
RIT settled down and ran out the final 20 minutes of regulation, setting up overtime and Ciurlizza's goal.
Andrew Ong (Phuket, Thailand/SKL) found Chuck Marion (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) who passed to Ciurlizza, who had made a nice run to get open, and blasted a shot into the far right post for the victory.
After the game Garno was pleased with his team's efforts but realizes with a lot of young guys playing some key minutes there's a ways to go. He was especially pleased with Geoff Schmidt (Wooster, OH/Wooster) (Wooster, OH/Wooster) and Mike Lawson (Wall, NJ/Wall).
"Geoff showed he's one of the best players here this weekend," said Garno. "He controlled play and won some key balls out of the air. I also thought Mike really asserted himself today."
RIT's next game is on Thursday, September 8 when they host Hobart College at 4 p.m. on RIT Field.
