Box Score

Ewing, NJ … Playing on its home turf for the first time this season, The College of New Jersey men's soccer team played Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham to a 1-1 draw in Lions Stadium on Wednesday night.
 
The Lions (3-3-2) took a brief lead early in the second thanks to the first collegiate goal by freshman Michael Kassak (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown). But the Devils (2-3-2) retaliated with a goal shortly after as both teams battled on the field for 110 minutes.
 
It was a busy first half for sophomore goalkeeper Jake Nesteruk (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East) as he made five stops in the opening 45 minutes. Midway through the period, he may back-to-back saves where he needed to leave his feet. The Devils were able to create more scoring chances, getting six shots off while the Lions registered just a single shot.
 
While neither team was able to find the back of the bet in the opening period, both squads had a goal just 1:14 into the second half. Kassak capitalized on a defensive turnover just 12 seconds after the intermission. He dribbled to the top of the box and ripped a low shot into the left corner of the net.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as sophomore AJ Carnevale (Princeton, NJ/West West Windsor Plainsboro North) took a feed from senior Tommy Asselta (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage) and deposited his second goal of the season. Asselta chipped the ball over the defensive backfield and Carnevale ran on for an uncontested tally.
 
FDU had a couple of scoring opportunities during the overtime period. Freshman Brandon DeOliveira (Cranford, NJ/Union County Vo-Tech) got behind the defense off a deflection and hit a bouncing ball that caromed off and over the crossbar.
 
In the second overtime, TCNJ freshman Dominic Polidoro (Monroe, NJ/Monroe Twp) came up with a big defensive play when Devils' sophomore Robby Bonjione (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) flicked a throw-in on goal. Polidoro cleared the ball out before it could cross the line, keeping the contest deadlocked at one.
 
Nesteruk finished with six saves in the game. FDU sophomore keeper Nick Mihalik (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) made two stops in the match.
 
TCNJ is back in action on Friday night for its New Jersey Athletic Conference opener against Rutgers-Newark at 7:30 p.m. in Lions Stadium