On Sunday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, the Stony Brook men’s soccer team took on Hartford in a battling conference matchup that went into overtime. Both teams battled to a 1-1 draw after regulation and overtime. The game was Stony Brook’s fifth draw of the season.
“I thought my guys worked really hard and played with heart,” head coach Ryan Anatol said. “We had the better of the play and better of the chances but we gave up a goal, which we could’ve gotten out of and defended better, yet we had many opportunities. My guys worked really hard and I’m proud of their effort.”
The game’s first goal came from graduate forward Robin Bjornholm-Jatta in the 36th minute, who subbed into the match seven minutes prior. A throw-in was deflected out of the box, which gave junior midfielder Serge Gamwanya an open shot at the net. He lobbed a pass into the box for graduate defender Eric McKenna, who headed the ball to Bjornholm-Jatta.
Throughout the match, the Seawolves posed many opportunities, which resulted in numerous corner kicks. The team had eight corner kicks, its fourth most in a match this season. Senior forward Akeem Morris had an opportunity in the 63rd minute, when he dribbled past Hawks sophomore goalkeeper Jimmy Slayton, but failed to finish as the ball went wide of the net.
Hartford freshman forward Ryan Innes led a charge up the field along the sideline, breaking past the Stony Brook defense. A cross by Innes found its way into the box and to the boot of freshman forward Rasmus Karlsson who shot the ball in the back of the goal, leveling Hartford with Stony Brook at one in the 70th minute.
Regulation time was not enough for the teams, as they went into an overtime. Throughout much of the overtime, both teams led charges into their opposing ends with long passes and crosses.
Stony Brook had an opportunity in the final minute of overtime with a free kick from Bjornholm-Jatta, but was blocked off the shoulder of a Hartford defender. With one last gasp, senior defender Barnabas Mako took a corner kick with time winding down, but was shot over the goalie’s head, ending the match.
The physical match also had 26 fouls, including two yellow cards. Stony Brook junior midfielder/defender Steven Ghitis picked up a yellow in the 59th minute after a hard foul on a Hartford player attempting to advance the ball. Hartford midfielder/forward Nyrik Antoine was called for a yellow card in the 110th minute.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Braham started his seventh consecutive game after redshirt senior goalkeeper Tom McMahon suffered an injury against Bryant on Sept. 16. Braham saved eight shots on net for the Seawolves.
“I thought Jacob was solid,” Anatol said. “He dealt with the stuff he had to deal with automatically and he did a very good job out there.”
Stony Brook’s overall record is currently notched at 6-4-4, with a conference record of 0-2-2. The team looks for its first conference win as it travels to Durham, NH to face conference rival New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m..
