Battle Between the Pipes Forces 1-1 Tie for Men's Soccer

BOSTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's soccer team traveled to Wentworth on Saturday afternoon for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) showdown. After a late game tying goal by junior Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico) neither side could earn a tally in double overtime as the Gulls tied with the Leopards 1-1 in conference play. Endicott sits at 8-6-3 (3-2-3 CCC) while the Leopards are now 4-7-5 (2-4-2 CCC).

Endicott will take the field next on Tuesday, October 28^th as they travel to CCC opponent Eastern Nazarene for the final regular season game of 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The Leopards will also play next on Tuesday as they host CCC foe, Nichols at 7:00 p.m. for senior night.

The first half was an absolute battle as the Blue and Green just outshot Wentworth 8-7 while the Leopards powered through on corner kicks, earning six to Endicott's one. In the opening 25 minutes of play both sides were battling for the control of the tempo as both goalkeepers were forced to make two key saves. Slobotzky had a great opportunity to find the back of the net at the 14 minute mark after he blasted a shot at goal but freshman goalkeeper Noah Scanlon (Millington, N.J.) was able to make the save. During those first 25 minutes of play junior Alberto Benhamu (Caracas, Venezuela) forced senior goalkeeper, Alex Jorge (Billerica, Mass.) to make a couple big stops to keep the game scoreless.

In the 38^th minute, junior Zach Rizzo (Redding, Conn.) showed great work ethic in the final third as he blasted a shot at goal that was saved, but Scanlon could not hold on to the ball, as Rizzo controlled the rebound and sent the ball back to goal but could not finish.

In the final minutes of the half the Leopards had possession and junior Arberi Ferraj (Moosup, Conn.) jumped up for a header to goal but Jorge was stealthy between the pipes and was able to make the crucial save to keep the game at a stalemate 0-0, entering halftime.

The second half was just as much of a battle as the first as the Blue and Green just outshot Wentworth 10-6 while earning three corner kick opportunities to the Leopards zero.

In the opening 20 minutes of play the Leopards broke the tie as Benhamu sent a ball to the lower left post off a feed in front from junior Max Hilchuck (Wethersfield, Conn.) to make it a 1-0 score. Endicott felt the pressure as they worked the final third with huge efforts from Rizzo, Slobotzky and sophomore Brion Likaj (Salem, Mass) whom all created strong opportunities.

After battling for 20 minutes Endicott finally found the back of the net at the 81 minute mark. A hungry Slobotzky ripped a shot that was blocked by a Leopards defender but he continued to work towards goal as he controlled the rebound and again sent the shot back to net to beat Scanlon for his eighth goal of the season.

With the game again at a tie both teams continued to work as they each forced one more shot before the buzzer that forced an overtime period. The first set of extra time continued the flow of the first 90 minutes of play that consisted of hard fought soccer. Each side was able to rattle of two shots while the Blue and Green forced Scanlon to make two saves while Jorge made one.

The second set of extra time had a lot of offensive pressure by both sides. After working the final third at the 107 mark, Sloboztky took the biggest shot of the game as he ripped a shot point-blank but Scanlon was able to make the save. The shot would mark as the last opportunity for either side as tough goalkeeping forced the 1-1 final score.

Jorge finished the afternoon with nine saves while Scanlon also tallied nine stops in the tie.