(Old Westbury, NY) - The bad news was that the Mount Saint Vincent Men's Soccer team lost its fourth consecutive game, 6-0 to Old Westbury on Saturday. The good news was that Mount Saint Vincent proved to be resilient once again, playing one of their best first halves of the 2006 season, and then getting a stunning performance by an unlikely hero during the final 45 minutes to keep the game respectable. Down to nine players thanks to several injuries during the first half on Saturday, the Dolphins may have lost the game, but their mettle and resolve to continue playing hard despite such adversity could be a sign that the future is very bright for a very young team and their first year Head Coach.
With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent falls to 3-10-1 and 0-7 in Skyline Conference play.
The first 41 minutes were nearly dead-even on Saturday as Mount Saint Vincent actually outshot the Panthers during the first half of play and had several scoring chances. However, at 41:45, sophomore goalie William Raftery (Bronx, NY/Salesian) made a save, but was struck in the head by an Old Westbury forward and dropped the ball as he fell to the ground. Without a foul call, the loose ball was kicked into the empty net by Old Westbury and the Panthers led 1-0.
Raftery's injury was to the extent that he was forced to leave the game, and with fellow goalie Martino Cecere (Blind Brook, NY/Rye Brook HS) sidelined with a shoulder injury, Head Coach Matt Hisler turned to junior Fitzroy Lawson (Yonkers, NY/Mannings) to protect the goal for the first time in his career. Talk about trial by fire, during the next 45 minutes, Lawson was peppered with 25 Panther shots. Lawson made 13 saves, several of which were spectacular, and despite allowing five goals during the span, his efforts allowed the Mount to keep things competitive for much of the second half. All five of Old Westbury's second-half goals came during an 11-minute span late in the game as the Mount played three men down. Lawson's efforts were heroic to say the least.
Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 25 for a 4:00 home game against Farmingdale State where seniors Chris MacDonald (Farmingdale, NY/Nassau CC) and Alwayne Green (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie HS) will be honored for their contributions to Mount Saint Vincent Men's Soccer before their final regular season home game.
