After shutting out Albany 2-0 on Saturday for its first conference win, the Stony Brook men’s soccer team played to a scoreless draw against New Hampshire Wednesday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
Great goalkeeping was on display all night as both goalies made several saves down the stretch to keep the score at 0-0.
Considered amongst the top goalkeepers in the conference, New Hampshire’s Colin O’ Donnell and Stony Brook sophomore Stefan Manz (Bronx, N.Y.) have 11 shutouts between them, ranking #1 and #2 in the America East Conference.
Not bad for Manz, who was not even guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup entering the season.
“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Coach Markovic said of his sophomore goalie. “He made a couple of key saves tonight when he had to. That’s his job, and I think he’s doing it well.”
One of those saves came in the 70th minute when Wildcat forward Jordan Thomas took a well-aimed pass into the box, but could not head it past Manz, who made the leaping grab to keep the score even. The save was one of four on the day for the Stony Brook ‘keeper.
On the other side, the Stony Brook offense, led by America East Player of the Week sophomore midfielder Leonardo Fernandes (North Babylon, N.Y.), could not find the net despite out-shooting the Wildcats 20-14. Fernandes came into the game second in the conference in goals, and fifth in points, but could not shake New Hampshire’s defenders.
“He was trying to make something happen in between a lot of defenders,” Coach Markovic said. “They were surrounding him at all times, I don’t think he had a second free, they smothered him the whole night.”
The Seawolves are 8-2-1 over the past two years when Fernandes, arguably the best player in the conference, scores in the game, but with opposing defenses now so focused on Fernandes it will take strong play from other Stony Brook attackers to put some points on the scoreboard.
Sophomore forward Raphael Abreu (New York, N.Y.) had Stony Brook’s best chance in the 83rd minute when he took a cross into the box from junior midfielder Wilber Bonilla (Brentwood, N.Y.), but the pass forced Abreu to reach up with his arm, and he was immediately carded for a handball.
Fernandes also had a chance to win the game in the 89th minute, but could not get off a decent enough header amid traffic to fool UNH’s goalie.
This was the second draw in a row between the two teams, and the fourth in the past five games. The Wildcats, who are not known for their scoring potential, focused more on stopping the Seawolves offense, a plan that they have implemented against other teams throughout the year as well.
“Most of the time when you play teams, you’re used to playing teams that are attacking the way you’re attacking,” Markovic said. “At some point, you tend to find the field open. But in this case, when you have four guys back at all times, it doesn’t give us a lot of space.”
With the draw, both teams earn a point in conference play, giving Stony Brook a total of four, good for fourth in the conference. New Hampshire (5-2-4, 0-1-2) now has two points in conference play and finds itself near the bottom of the standings at seventh.
Stony Brook’s upcoming schedule is tough one as the team leaves the friendly confines of LaValle Stadium, where they are 4-1-2 on the season, for a three-game road trip, starting first with a game against Vermont this Saturday.
“It’ll be a difficult game for us,” Coach Markovic said. “But we feel very confident about the way we’ve played on the road lately, and I think our guys will respond.”
