Garden City, N.Y. — Head coach Gary Book and the Adelphi men's soccer team returned to Motamed Field on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference tilt against Gannon.
Once they gained possession after the opening kick off, the Panthers shot up field putting early pressure on the Golden Knights, earning a corner kick in the first two minutes.
Gannon came back down and miss a shot high before Adelphi responded immediately. Two quick shots had the Golden Knights on their heels and in the 11th minute the ball found Alessio Consoli at midfield. The senior sent a through ball to Rory Duggan on the wing whose cross deflected off of the Gannon keeper and bounced right to Richard DeBrosse. DeBrosse lept and potted the ball into the back of the net with his left foot to give the Panthers an early lead.
After the score, a majority of the first half was played in the middle of the field with neither squad retaining much possession. It seemed that this was Gannon's preference as slowly they mounted an attack. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Gannon found an open man who ripped the tying goal past Andrea Farinella. The teams went into the break tied at one a piece.
Early on in the second half, both teams had chances but none were fruitful. That changed in the 56th minute, however. After taking the ball from a Golden Knight, Sam Nolan sent a perfect pass to the speedy Duggan who only had the keeper to beat. The Maspeth, N.Y. native took one dribble to the right and buried his shot into the empty net for a 2-1 Adelphi lead.
The remainder of the game was very chippy. While the first half saw a handful of fouls but no cards, five cards were given out in the second. The most crucial one given was in the 77th minute. Agustin Soldo, a Gannon transfer, collided with a Golden Knight in what looked to be a 50/50 ball, but the referee did not see it that way. Soldo was sent off with his second yellow of the day and the Panthers were forced to go into defensive mode.
With Gannon pressing Adelphi's zone for the next 13 minutes, the Panthers did an excellent job of clearing the ball. If the Golden Knights were able to get a shot off it either sailed wide or was met by Farinella who made a career high seven saves. The impressive defensive showing kept the Panthers afloat as they went on to win 2-1.
The Adelphi men's soccer team will return to the field on Saturday at 12:00 PM for Youth Day when they host Saint Michael's.
