HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The final score may not have been the resulted that was hoped for by Head Coach
Krystian Witkowski, but the effort put forth by the Fairfield University men's soccer team was rather encouraging.
The Stags dropped their season opener to 17
th-ranked Marshall University on the road, but it took a miraculous shot with five seconds remaining in the match to push the Herd past the visitors by a 2-1 count.
All the scoring came in the final 15 minutes of the match, beginning with Marshall's goal in the 75
th minute. Goncalo Machado posted the goal in the 75
th minute when he collected a loose ball inside the box and one-timed a shot that caught the far corner.
Fairfield didn't need to wait long to gain the equalizer as just over minute expired off the clock before the tying goal was found. The scoring chance started when
Evan Chomow collected the ball inside the box and sent the ball down field with a strong strike from his box.
The ball landed about 30 yards from goal, where it went bounced over Marshall's goalkeeper's head, who left his line to try and clear.
Cristiano Carlos beat the Marshall defenders to the ball and headed the ball into the open goal for his first goal as a Stag.
Fairfield looked as though it was going to come away with a draw until the Herd made one more run at goal with 15 seconds remaining. The ball was played into the box by Ryan Holmes where Nikita Pakhomov headed it back to Adam Ngoren. Ngoren hit a volley that landed just inside the far post to put the home in front with five seconds on the clock.
The two teams played to a scoreless draw through the first half despite Marshall applying pressure throughout the 45 minutes. The Herd finished the half with six shots but Chomow turned away the two shots that were on target.
In the second half, the Stags' back line continued to stifle Marshall's attack, turning away each scoring chance through the first 30 minutes of the period. Again, Chomow was up to those early challenges, doubling up his save total with another pair of stops.
Fairfield will return to the pitch on Thursday, August 27 when it will travel to UConn for a 6 pm match. The Stags will make their home debut on Tuesday, September 1 by hosting Lehigh University at Lessing Field.
