Penalty Kick in 90th Minute Sinks Men’s Soccer in NJAC Tournament Semifinals, 2-1
24 Nov 2021 | 08:58 | Football
MAHWAH, N.J. – A controversial penalty kick with less than a minute remaining was the difference as the sixth-seeded William Paterson men’s soccer team (12-7-1, 4-5 NJAC) lost a 2-1 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament semifinal contest at second-seeded Ramapo (15-2-2, 6-2-1 NJAC) Oct. 30.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
A long pass was played by the Roadrunners that resulted in a WP back, the Pioneer goalkeeper and a Ramapo attacker all converging almost simultaneously toward the ball just inside the left edge of the box with 57 seconds remaining. A foul was whistled against William Paterson on the play, and a penalty kick was awarded to Ramapo. Junior forward Joseph Fala converted to the lower-right side for the go-ahead goal.
Fala gave the Roadrunners a 1-0 advantage in the 31st minute, heading in Eduardo Reyes’ pass.
William Paterson got the equalizer at the 71:00 mark when Allen played a ball up the left side to sophomore forward Christopher Fuentes (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional), who chipped the keeper to find the right side of the net.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Junior Kyle Quigley (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) collected two saves for WP.
The Pioneers had multiple chances during the opening half, but could not finish as junior forward/midfielder Kyle Adams (Bordentown, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) had a shot saved, Adams rang a strike off the crossbar and junior midfielder Cameron Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./Saint John Vianney) saw his attempt stopped all within a three-minute span midway through the period. Freshman back Connor Sweeney (Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) also found the woodwork, knocking one off the post less than four minutes before halftime.
Allen was just wide of the far post in the 73rd and 79th minutes, and he and junior midfielder Jordan Saling (Haledon, N.J./Paramus Catholic) knocked attempts over the crossbar during the final eight minutes of play. A sliding clear by senior back Charlie Lizardo (Newark, N.J./East Side) in front of an open WP net kept Ramapo off the scoreboard in the 82nd minute.
