Box Score

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's soccer team drew a 1-1 tie with third-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology in its home opener on Wednesday night in Lions' Stadium.

The Lions (3-1-1) were less than three minutes away from a big win, but Ducks sophomore Carson Pryor (St. Louis, Mo/MICDS) followed his own shot off the post to tie the game with 2:21 remaining in the match.

TCNJ sophomore Matthew Ziegler (East Brunswick, NJ/Milford) scored his first career goal at the 66:45 mark to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. Senior Sean Casey (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) was credited with the assist.

The two teams battled through two overtime periods, but neither team could convert and settled for a 1-1 draw.

While both teams entered the game averaging better than four goals per game, neither was able to find the back of the net in the opening half. Opportunities were scarce as the majority of play took place in the midfield. The Ducks (3-0-1) had the better of play early on, gaining a few chances off turnovers in transition. But the host defenders recovered without any real threat of scoring chance.

Senior Kevin Shaw (Brookside, NJ/West Morris Mendham) had the best look of the period for the Lions off a restart. He bent a shot from the left side toward the lower left corner, but Stevens goalkeeper Paul Killian (Ellicott City, Md/Marriots Ridge) dove down to his right to smother the shot.

In the 24^th minute of the second half, Casey got loose down the right sideline and sent a long cross to left side of the box. Ziegler raced past his defender to get a foot on the cross and re-directed a shot into the top left corner to give TCNJ the lead. It was the fourth assist of the season for Casey.

In the 87^th minute, Pryor found a seam from 25 yards out, split the defense and hit a low shot that caromed off the near post. The ball came directly back at him and he knocked it in to draw even and force overtime.

Senior goalkeeper Aaron Utman (Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley) kept the game scoreless in the opening half, while sophomore Maciej Libucha (Woodland Park, NJ/Passiac Valley) made two stops to earn the tie.

Killian made four saves in the game for the Ducks. Stevens held a 16-8 advantage in shots, while TCNJ registered five shots on goal to the visitors' four.

The Lions will host York College (NY) this Saturday at TCNJ's Soccer Complex at 1 p.m. Stevens will play host to New York University on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Hoboken, NJ