ROCHESTER, NY – Scott Fishel (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)'s game-winning goal in the 58th minute was the difference, as the RIT men's soccer team (5-7, 2-2 Liberty League) topped Clarkson (4-7, 1-3 Liberty League), 2-1 in a physical conference battle on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
Fishel's second goal of the season was set up by a curving corner kick by
Adam Bem (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius), as the RIT junior captain knifed into the scrum settling in front of goal, and leapt over a few players, his header striking just to the keeper's right.
Luke Dorsey (Cazenovia, NY/Cazenovia) provided his first goal of the season midway through the first half, giving the Tigers the 1-0 advantage.
For the Golden Knights, Zachary Godin scored on a penalty kick in the 39th minute to level the match at one, his sixth of the season.
Peter Cinibulk (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook), supported by a strong defensive effort, only needed a single save for his fourth victory in net for RIT.
The Tigers held an advantage on offense, winning the shot battle, 16-7, as both teams locked into a crucial match that will shape the Liberty League standings.
The Tigers had a few chances at net early on in the match, the best coming in the 11th minute as RIT forced a penalty kick, set up by aggressive play by
Anthony DeFeo (Rochester, NY /Hilton) and Ruben Marquez.
Gene Sicoli (Commack, NY/Commack) lined up to take the ensuing kick, and his shot went left, as Clarkson's Michael King dove for a tip save to keep the game level.
RIT finally cashed in on the opportunity in the 27th minute, as
Akram Meza (Troy, NY/Troy) sent a low pass to Dorsey in the box, who was able to beat the keeper from point blank range. Not too long after, Clarkson answered, forcing a penalty of its own in the 39th minute. Godin fired the penalty chance to the right, with Cinibulk unable to corral the shot.
In the second half, the Tigers turned it on offensively, getting a myriad of opportunities, culminating with the Fishel goal. The Golden Knights went for broke late in the match, with a number of free kick opportunities in scoring range. With just over seven seconds left, Clarkson had a chance to tie with one about 25 yards out, as the attempt to force a header was blocked by the RIT defense, the time ticking away for the victory.
"Today was a very big win for us as it gets us to 2-2 in conference with four conference games remaining, three of them at home," said RIT men's soccer head coach
Bill Garno. "Clarkson was a disciplined team that made it difficult for us to generate many quality scoring chances. Save the last few minutes of the game when things were pretty hectic for us defensively, I thought our back four did a great job in the second half. We had a few key players nicked up from a very physical game on Wednesday, so it wasn't the prettiest of games, but we'll take the result and look forward to a full week of training and getting everyone back to 100%."
The Tigers continue Liberty League play, as they take on Bard (5-6-1, 0-4 Liberty League) on Friday in game two of their five-game home stand, with kickoff set for 4 p.m., as part of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.
