Box Score 
 
GARDEN CITY, NY – Brandon Stoneham scored his first goal of the season with just three minutes remaining in the second overtime, giving Adelphi a stunning 2-1 victory over the NJIT men's soccer team Tuesday night.
 
The victory enabled the Panthers to improve to 3-13 as they closed out their season on a high note. The heartbreaking loss dropped the Highlanders back to the .500 mark at 9-9.
 
It was a particularly tough loss for the Highlanders to swallow, especially since they outshot the Panthers, 21-7, and had several excellent chances to win the game, especially in the second overtime.
 
The Highlanders put the early pressure on the Panthers, collecting two good scoring chances in the first 12 minutes. Junior midfielder Nils Warfving fired a shot wide left of the goal in the sixth minute and sophomore midfielder Matija Blazic went high over the crossbar in the 12th minute.
 
NJIT finally broke on the scoring column in the 13th minute, when freshman midfielder Enrique Hidalgo alertly pounced on a deflection in front of the goal and knocked it past Adelphi goalie Ahmad Salamah for the 1-0 lead. The unassisted goal was the third of the season for Hidalgo.
 
The Highlanders kept the pressure on the Panthers, looking for that second goal.
 
Senior forward Franco Gamero hit the post with a shot in the 32nd minute and freshman defender Falk Siegel hit the crossbar with a blast in the 37th minute.
 
Reserve forward Jason Chippy, a Highlander sophomore, had a chance in the 43rd minute, but his shot went wide left.
 
The Highlanders had the 1-0 lead, but Adelphi didn't register a single shot on NJIT senior net minder Lars Maalen-Johansen.
 
The second half, played in chilly conditions on Long Island, didn't bring many scoring chances, but Adelphi's Omar Edwards got a breakaway chance in the 56th minute and buried it past Maalen-Johansen for the equalizer. Edwards' goal, his third of the season, was also unassisted.
 
Adelphi had a chance to win the game in the 81st minute, but Maalen-Johansen came up big, stopping a shot from Anderson Hewes.
 
Regulation ended with both teams having one goal. The Highlanders had the best of the second overtime session, when they amazingly had three golden scoring chances to score the golden goal.
 
In the 103rd minute, NJIT sophomore forward Cristian Marcel had a shot that was corralled by Salamah. A minute later, Gamero hit the crossbar with a shot, then Blazic hit the post in two successive shots.
 
“We literally had five or six shots go off the post or the crossbar,” NJIT men's head soccer coach Cesar Markovic said. “We created good chances, but we had no luck at all.”
 
Finally, Stoneham ended the action with his stunning goal from 25 yards out, hooking a shot from the left side that eluded Maalen-Johansen for the game-winner.
 
Markovic was at a loss for words after the setback.
 
“There's really nothing to say,” Markovic said. “It was just one of those games, one of those days. We did everything right to win the game, but the ball didn't go in. We had a loss of focus for two minutes and we paid the price for it. When you hit the post and the bar that many times and don't get one of them, then that's bad luck. I can't say the team played poorly. They created chances and played well. We just didn't win.”
 
Markovic now has to get the Highlanders ready for their 2012 season finale, the match with Howard at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium Saturday night against Howard. It's Senior Night and Alumni Night, but the match holds a special meaning for the Highlanders.
 
“We have a chance to win 10 games and finish over .500,” Markovic said. “That's very big for us. We have to be ready.”

Write-up courtesy James Hague