Box score
PHILADELPHIA—Drexel's Ken Tribbett drove home a header off of a free kick with two seconds remaining in regulation to give the unbeaten Dragons a 2-1 win over visiting NJIT in non-conference men's soccer Monday night.
Drexel scored both of its goals in the final 24 minutes to overcome an early deficit and keep its perfect record in four starts. NJIT falls to 2-2 with the loss. Three of NJIT's four games have been decided by a single goal. The Highlanders have a win in overtime, a loss in overtime, and now this one-goal loss with two seconds left in regulation.
With the score tied at one and three seconds left in regulation, the Highlanders were whistled for a foul about five yards outside of the box. When they kicked the ball away from its spot following the foul, the referee used his discretion to stop the clock.
Drexel's Anthony Bafile set the ball and lined up for the kick as the Dragons used the stoppage to pack the goal area. Bafile sent the free kick toward the back post where Tribbett, loosely marked, used his 6-foot-2 frame to re-direct the ball and headed it into the middle of the net, lifting his team to victory.
Ranked fifth in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region coaches poll, Drexel had not surrendered a goal in its first two home games (5-0 win vs. Canisius; 2-0 vs. Villanova).
But NJIT, ranked seventh in the NSCAA North Atlantic Region poll, broke the Dragons' home shutout spell on a penalty kick by Jack McVey at 23:55. It was the third goal of the season for McVey, tying him with Nils Warfving for the Highlanders team lead.
That would be the only goal for the Highlanders, despite the fact that they outshot the home team in the first half, 7-4.
“We played very well in the first half,” said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes afterward. “Jack (McVey), Nathan (D'Aversa), Angel (Gomez), and Tim (Hojnacki) all did a good job keeping the ball and setting up opportunities for us.”
The same could not be said for the Highlanders as a unit in the second half, according to their coach. “We did not play the second half with the same amount of movement,” reported Lopes. “We did a poor job protecting possession. I don't want to take credit away from Drexel—they did a good job putting pressure on us. And we did not match their intensity in the second half.”
A measure of the momentum shift in second half could be found on the stat sheet, with the Dragons outshooting the Highlanders in the period, 12-2. The game totals favored Drexel, 16-9, although the only two shots on goal for the Dragons ended up in the net.
The second-half pressure from the home side did not pay off immediately, as a shot from Nate Baker missed over the crossbar and he had another chance that was blocked by the NJIT defense in the 56th minute. The Drexel senior had yet another chance four minutes later, but shot wide.
Unable to get a goal himself, Baker managed to take part in the equalizer, picking up the assist in the 67th minute. Baker fought his way to a cross in the middle of the box and passed to Nathan Page, who fought off a defender and scored from 10 yards out.
Page's tying goal set the stage for Tribbett's dramatic winner in the closing seconds.
Lopes was displeased with his team's response to the circumstances surrounding the deciding goal. “We lost our composure by kicking the ball so that the referee could stop the clock,” said the coach. “And then there were plenty of defenders in the area where the (goal scorer) was and they gave him too much room. It was a lack of concentration marking, We had a couple of mental lapses at a crucial time and paid the ultimate penalty by losing the match.”
Drexel's freshman keeper Pentti Pussinen made three saves to earn the win, while NJIT's John Ricketti did not have a save.
The Highlanders will return home for a Thursday match against St. Francis (NY). Kickoff on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium is scheduled for 7 pm.
