HAVERFORD, Pa. - A pair of penalty kicks were the ultimate decider in Tuesday's match, as the Haverford men's soccer team (2-2-7, 0-1-3 CC) were on the fortunate end of both crucial kicks, to win the game 1-0 over Rutgers-Camden (8-3-1, 3-0 NJAC) on Walton Field.
The contest was part of Haverford Athletics' Pride Week, which continues with events through October 7, as Haverford's Play with Pride Club hosted a fresh fruit giveaway, and Bryan Ruby sang the national anthem prior to kickoff.
The first-half saw minimal chances from both teams, as the Scarlet Raptors got the first chance of the game in the 15th minute, when a Jarrin Allen shot was saved by Dylan Ioffreda.
Nearly five minutes later, the Fords saw their first opportunity, when a shot from Brian Lorenz was saved by Rutgers-Camden keeper Sean Boen. There were just seven shots between the two teams at halftime, with the Raptors holding a one shot advantage at 4-3. Despite Rutgers-Camden leading in corner kicks 3-0, the Raptors forced just one save out of Ioffreda.
Rutgers-Camden started the second half off with bang, unleashing four shots in the first 15 minutes, pressing Ioffreda to save two of those four shot attempts. The game then started to head off the rails in the 70th minute, when Aidan Lacy got pulled down in the box by Justin Bamgboye, awarding the Fords a penalty kick.
Captain Tomas Ascoli stepped up from the spot, and buried one past Boen's right side to give the Fords a 1-0 lead, tallying his first goal of the season. Nearly 10 minutes later chaos ensued, as off a free kick Haverford's Alex Millones and Rutgers-Camden's Nick Yurcho got tangled up in the box. Both players went down, but it was the Raptors who were awarded the penalty kick.
It was Rutgers-Camden's leading scorer Jason Angel who stepped up for the penalty kick. Angel placed a low driven shot to the left side of Ioffreda but it was the Haverford keeper who stood tall, and pushed the shot away, preserving the 1-0 lead.
With one minute remaining, the Fords had one more chance to put the game away. Lacy, again causing problems along the back line, broke loose from the defense off a pass from Thomas Vanni, and unleashed a howler of a shot that was parried away by Boen to keep the game at 1-0. That would be all she wrote, as the Fords were able to hang on to a 1-0 victory in the final moments.
Despite the win, the Fords trailed the Raptors in the shots category by just one (14-13). Rutgers Camden also had the clear advantage in corner kicks over Haverford 7-1. The chippy encounter saw 18 fouls, as Haverford ended the game with 11 fouls to the Raptors' seven.
The Fords look to continue their winning ways on Saturday, October 7, as they travel to Chestertown, Md. to take on Washington College in a Centennial Conference showdown. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.