September 14, 2005
NEW ROCHELLE , NY -
Felipe Faundez headed in a feed from Paul Racines in the seventh minute of overtime, lifting Iona to a 1-0 win over visiting New Jersey Institute of Technology in a non-conference match Wednesday afternoon.
Faundez, who was set in front of the NJIT goal, nodded home the pass from Racines, who crossed the ball shoulder high out of the right corner.
"It's tough to lose that way, with three of our guys around the man who scored," said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes, who saw his team's three-match unbeaten streak (a win and two ties) come to a halt. "Someone has to stop the ball or the shot there."
NJIT ( 1-2-2 ) had gotten two shots in the overtime period, forcing one save out of Iona goalkeeper Tom Orbacz during the extra session.
In the first half, Iona (2-3) had its best scoring chance on a penalty kick in the 15 th minute, when NJIT goalkeeper Ryan Sutherland guessed correctly and made a diving deflection on Racines ' shot to Sutherland's right.
The best NJIT chance came late in the first half, when Eddie Romero directed an over-the-shoulder kick from the top of the box that nearly slipped inside the far post, before a diving Orbacz flicked it clear at the last moment.
In the second half, Sutherland kept Iona off the board with difficult saves in the 69 th and 78 th minutes. The first was on a one-on-one breakaway by Sebastian Garcia-Lopez, as Sutherland smothered the ball at the top of the penalty area and the second was a reaction save on a hard, close-in shot by Racines .
Played on a hot, muggy afternoon, Tuesday's match was a departure from NJIT's early-season trend of gaining more of the play as the game progresses. " Iona is definitely a fit team," commented Lopes. "We're a fit team, too, and we've been able to use that against some of our previous opponents. I have to give Iona credit, they kept coming at us all game and eventually it paid off for them."
Wednesday's match marked the fourth time in five starts that NJIT has gone to overtime. The Highlanders opened the season with a 3-2 double overtime loss at Boston University , before playing a scoreless double overtime tie against Stony Brook. NJIT won its only regulation finish, topping Manhattan , 2-0, in the standard 90 minutes, before going 110 minutes in a 1-1 tie against Fordham.
Next up, the Highlanders will visit Monmouth for a 4 pm game on Saturday, September 17. It will be NJIT's third game in a week on Monmouth's Great Lawn field. Last weekend, the Highlanders took on Manhattan and Fordham in West Long Branch , NJ , at the SoccerPost.com Classic hosted by Monmouth.
