Long Island men defeat Bryant

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Sophomore midfielder Josh Maley (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) broke a 2-2 tie in overtime to lift the Long Island University men's soccer team to a 3-2 win over Bryant on Friday on LIU Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. After junior Craig Stant (Elston, England) sent a corner kick into the six-yard box, Maley found the loose ball and buried a volley from five yards past the Bryant defense to give LIU (4-4, 1-0 NEC) the win in its Northeast Conference opener.

The tally capped a see-saw affair the saw 16 total shots on goal. After ending the first half knotted at one goal a piece, Long Island briefly took a 2-1 lead in the 52nd minute. Sophomore Steve Jakubowski (West Deptford, N.J.) took possession of the ball in midfield, took one touch, then fired a shot from 35-yards that sailed over the head of Bryant goalkeeper Matt Miscione into the top right corner of the net.

LIU?s lead would be short-lived as Bryant countered at the 61:06 mark when Taylor Sabo snuck a header past LIU goalkeeper Adam Janssen (Toronto, Ontario). The game would stay as a defensive struggle into the extra period both goalies made acrobatic saves to keep their respective teams alive. Janssen made saves in the 67th and 90th minute to preserve the 2-2 tie.

Long Island started the scoring in the first half at the 30:14 mark. Stant sent a free kick into the 18-yard box from the midfield stripe where the ball found Jakubowski. With his back to the goal, the West Deptford, N.J., native flicked the service with his head and over the outstretched hands of Miscoine to put LIU ahead 1-0.  The tally was Jakubowski?s fourth of the season.

Only 14 seconds before halftime, Bryant tied the game at 1-1 when Patrick Bedard headed a corner kick in from inside the six-yard box to tie the contest. The header was one of six shots on goal for the Bulldogs as the Blackbirds tallied 10 for the contest.

Senior Adam Kelemet (Morris Plains, N.J.) and freshman Jakeem Johnson (Upper Montclair, N.J.) both sent three shots on goal in the game. Janssen recorded four saves in the contest and improved his record to 3-4 on the season.

The Blackbirds travel to Newark, N.J. on Sunday to play NJIT at 2:00 p.m.