Men's Soccer Tops William Paterson in Home Opener, 2-1

Ben Field
Ben Field
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HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's soccer team put away two goals in the opening half and held off a furious second half rally from William Paterson to win its home opener, 2-1. The game was a tale of two halves as the Fords held a 9-3 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes. William Paterson put the pressure on the Fords in the second half with 14 shots, but was unable to find the equalizer against the Haverford defense.

The Fords (2-0) got on the board when the Seitz connection combined for a goal just over 13 minutes into the contest. Pinning the Pioneers down in their defensive third, Colin Seitz received the ball at the top of the 18. He would then find his brother, Brady Seitz, at the right corner. Brady then buried the finish in the net for the early lead. Brady Seitz's goal was his second of the season.

Haverford added its second goal of the game in the 40th minute of play when freshman Ben Field tallied the first goal of his collegiate career. Field received the pass from Matthew Clausen as he took the ball down to the touchline on the right side. Clausen's pass was perfectly touched to Field who finished his shot to the far post. That 2-0 lead would be the difference as the two squads headed into the half.

Goalkeeper Sam Miller and the rest of his defense faced 17 shots for the game, 14 of which came during the second half. Of those 14 shots that the Haverford defense was faced with, Miller was called on to make four saves in the second half. He would finish the game with six saves in total.

William Paterson broke through on the scoreboard in the 76th minute when Aken Pierre scored off a corner kick feed from Tyler Burd. The corner chance was set up off a blocked shot by the Haverford defense inside the box that deflected out of bounds.

The Pioneers were inches away from tying the game in the 84th minute after Pierre made his second run at goal but saw his header bounce off the right post and cleared out of harm's way. William Paterson's final quality scoring chance came with just seconds remaining on the clock.

With William Paterson playing a pass into the box, Miller came off his line and collided with a striker bearing down on the ball. The collision left the ball free and Miller out of position to defend his net, but the Pioneers sent the shot high over the crossbar.

Miller's counterparts from William Paterson each surrendered one goal. Mike Diacheysn played the first 21:04 in goal and made one save. Sal Fazio came on after an injury and finished the remainder of the game in goal. He made three saves on the afternoon.

Men's soccer will wrap up the Jimmy Mills Classic with a contest against Rutgers-Newark tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.