EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's soccer team shook off a pair of stunning goals by visiting Hunter to keep its season-opening unbeaten streak alive and well with an exciting 4-2 victory on a picture-perfect fall Saturday at Lions Stadium.
Matt Will scored one goal and assisted on two others, including
Nick Luddy's go-ahead header in the 62
nd minute, as the Lions (3-0-3) remained unblemished.
Hunter (0-4-1) put the hosts in a shocking early hole, Yassine Jaballah miraculously blasting a 65-yard shot over the head of
Carson Dodd and into the back of the net as the TCNJ netminder scrambled to get back.
The Lions, however, pulled in front with a pair of goals in a span of less than five minutes. First,
Chris Meder dove to head home Will's inswinging free kick from just outside the box to make it 1-1 in the 18
th minute.
Will's remarkable individual effort resulted in the first lead of the day for the blue and gold. The sophomore dispossessed a Hunter defender at the edge of the box and got the ball onto his left foot before sending a curling shot into the far left corner of the netting.
The Hawks equalized with 3:06 remaining in the first half, when Georgios Tsiakis sent a free kick from a few yards outside of the box past a diving Dodd and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Meder was denied a brace by the crossbar in the 62
nd minute, but it took all of 46 seconds for the blue and gold to pull ahead for good.
Manny Thacher volleyed a left-footed pass forward for Will, who raced toward the end line before serving up a perfect cross for the rookie Luddy to head into an open net for a 3-2 advantage.
TCNJ doubled the spread with just over 10 minutes to play.
Matt Maceri played in a long ball from just beyond midfield, and
Aidan Ayar let it bounce once before ripping a leaping, right-footed volley past the Hunter keeper for a spectacular insurance marker.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ outshot the Hawks, 19-5, and held an 8-1 advantage in corners
- The Lions put nine of those efforts on goal
STANDOUT LIONS
- Will matched his career high with four points
- Meder put up a game-high five shots, three of which were on target
- Ayar scored for the fifth time in six games this season and extended his team-leading total to six goals
- Luddy's goal was the first of his career
NOTES
- The Lions matched their season high with four goals
- Meder's 22nd career goal gave him an even 60 points for his TCNJ tenure
- Ayar netted career goal No. 10
- Elias Blount and Alex Lopez each made their first start in a TCNJ uniform
UP NEXT
- The Lions host Swarthmore on Tuesday, September 22
