The Morrisville State Mustangs men's soccer team battle back from a 1-0 first half deficit to stun the Wells College Express 2-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action Saturday afternoon in Aurora. Matt Doran (Marathon, N.Y.) scored the go ahead goal with less than three minutes remaining to pace the Mustangs (4-8-3, 4-3-2 NEAC). Jonathan Mulcahey (Fulton, N.Y.) scored the lone goal for the Express, who fell to 6-9 (3-5 NEAC) on the year.
The Express came out with a vengeance on a day the recognized nine graduating seniors. Wells pressured early and often firing shots just wide of the net in the first five minutes of play.
The Express continued to play inside the offensive zone of the Mustangs. In the 20th minute the pressure would look to pay off as JP Rosas (Guayaquil, Ecuador) and Delroy Roberts (Kingston, Jamaica) broke in on a two-on-one scoring opportunity. With Rosas working down the right side of the box he sent the ball back towards the middle of the box where he found Roberts who ripped a shot off the crossbar as the game remained scoreless.
Moments later a second ball found the crossbar this time off the foot of Forrest Lambert as the Express momentum continued to build.
Wells finally found the back of the net in the 31st minute. A foul by Morrisville gave the Express a direct kick from 25 yards out and they would not disappoint. After the initial kick fell into the box, the loose ball would be tipped behind the goalie and looked to be headed out of bounds -- wide of the net but, Mulcahey came sprinting in and while sliding feet first, redirected the ball just enough for it to sneak inside the near post for a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs started to build momentum towards the end of the half, drawing several corner kicks with less than two minutes to play, including one that fell on to the foot of Jeffrey Sekyere (Bronx, N.Y.) forcing Express goalie David Kaus (Erie, Pa.) to make a point blank save to preserve the 1-0 lead.
The two teams tightened up on the defensive end in the second half as both squards played to a scoreless half with less than ten minutes to play.
The Mustangs finally go on the board in the 81st minute. Operating outside the box, Scott Morris (Elizabethtown, N.Y.) sent a curling shot from 25 yards out on the left side into the top right corner of the goal tying the game at 1-1.
The Mustangs were not finished. This time Brendan Nally (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) brough the ball up across midfield and sent a pass through traffic to Doran who sent a low shot past Kaus (5 saves) for the go-ahead and eventual game winning goal with 2:45 left to play.
Wells held a slim 8-7 advantage in shots on goals while Morrisville held the advantage in corner kicks 10-6.