The Stony Brook Men’s Soccer team closed out their non-conference season with a 2-0 win against NJIT last Friday night. The win lifts the struggling Seawolves to 3-7 on the season while NJIT slips to 1-7. This game evens the teams’ career series record to 4-4-2.

The Seawolves took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal by freshman Oscar Leis. Leis took a pass from David Weisberger and tucked the ball into the far post where it rebounded into the net. The assist was Weisberger’s first of his college career. The Seawolves had several more opportunities through the rest of the first half, but nothing came of it.

Stony Brook’s defense held fast through the first half to keep their team on top going into the locker room. Junior Yahaya Musa shut down the right side of the field, forcing the Highlanders to attack from the opposite side, but they couldn’t complete their shots. Play became rough as the half came to a close, with two yellow cards being issue to NJIT’s Kevin Blanco and Stony Brook’s Erion Qoku.

The second half opened with a few opportunities for the Highlanders off free kicks. Stony Brook needs to work on their defense of set plays. NJIT had too many opportunities to score because the Seawolves wasn’t covering all fields. Stony Brook gave up the advantage in possession that they gained in the first half, with many starters taking a rest on the bench.

Leis almost made it two with a drive up field past the Highlanders defense but the shot went wide. As the clock ran down on the Highlanders hopes of rallying for the win, Stony Brook put the nail in the coffin with a record setting assist by Michael Palacio. Palacio posted his third assist of the season, with a pass headed in by Tamer Mohamed in the 89th minute. The assist was the 19th of Palacio’s career, making him Stony Brook’s all time leader in assist.

Goalie Rich Skoblicki posted a clean sheet in his first start of the season. He had excellent support from his defense, which did a good job of shutting down the Highlanders as they tried to drive forward.

The Seawolves take on Vermont and Albany as they begin their bid to defend their America East Conference title. The team heads back home on October 4th to take on UMBC.