Garden City, N.Y. – A season-opening win was not to be as a 2-0 Adelphi University men's soccer team advantage was erased in the final eight minutes against 11th ranked LIU Post to force a 2-2 draw at the opening night of the Second Annual Adelphi Alumni Invitational and 2015 season.
The Panthers (0-0-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than midway through the first half as
Caelan Hueber connected off a deflection from
Matt Giaconelli, originally created by
Christian Lird. More than 20 minutes later, the Brown and Gold made it 2-0 before the halftime break with a
Emil Thomsen scoring his first collegiate goal as
Toni Soler set him up off the corner kick.
At the intermission, the Pioneers (0-0-1) held a slight 7-6 advantage in shots while Adelphi owned a 4-2 corner kick benefit.
As the clock ticked less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Panthers look to have a season-opening "upset" on their hands against the Pioneers, ranked 11th in the NSCAA Coaches' Preseason Poll. However, the crosstown rival began to push that hope aside as Jason Lampkin drove a ball from the left flank, banking into the net off the right upper corner to bring the Green and Gold to 2-1 in the 83rd minute.
Following in the 86th minute, LIU Post was able to find the equalizer. As a group formed in the middle of the Panthers' defensive box, a foul inside the box allowed Tom Bowen to step up and even the game at 2-2 with a penalty kick and forcing overtime.
In the two overtime sessions, Adelphi created a mere 3-2 shot advantage as neither team was able to create any significant opportunity. Both goalkeepers did their parts to keep their respective teams in the contest as
Sergio Reyes made six saves in net for Adelphi while LIU Post goalkeeper Jesper Malmstrom stopped five shots.
"I'm very proud of my guys to almost come back and actually win the game," said Head Coach
Carlo Acquista. "We now look forward to playing Domincan on Saturday and finishing this tournament on a high."
Earlier in the evening, Southern Connecticut opened up the weekend with a 1-0 victory against Dominican. On Saturday, the 16th ranked Owls go head-to-head at 3:00 pm against LIU Post with Adelphi and Dominican to follow at 6:00 pm.
