Men’s Soccer Plays to 2-2 Draw with Mt. St. Vincent

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Riverdale, NY| Sophomore Damian Duda netted the equalizer in the 81st minute as the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's soccer team and Skyline Conference rival the College of Mount St. Vincent played to a 2-2 tie in Riverdale, NY on Wednesday afternoon.

With the draw the Golden Eagles move to 2-5-1 on the year and 2-0-1 in conference play. The Dolphins sit at 4-3-1 (2-0-1 Skyline).

Mt. St. Vincent's opened the match's scoring in the 13th minute when Andrew Gomez dribbled through a pair of SJC defenders and beat freshman keeper Steven Deng.

Less than 20 minutes later, sophomore Rayneri Ruiz brought the guests level (1-1) in the 31st minute with his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Ruiz, who took a pass from Duda, beat the CMSV keeper 1v1 with a high attempt that tucked in under the crossbar.

But it would be the Dolphins that struck before the break, ensuring they took a 2-1 lead into the second half. In the 44th minute, Jose Mendoza tallied an unassisted mark when he ripped a shot from the left that beat Deng high on the far post.

After being outshot 8-3 in the first, SJC generated nine shots to CMSV's five in the second and found an equalizer in the 81st minute when Duda redirected junior Kyle Conway's set piece attempt for his first-career goal.

St. Joseph's was the better of the two teams in extra time, outshooting the hosts 5-4, but no winner would be found as the teams shared the spoils of a 2-2 draw.

Ruiz (8) and Duda (4) combined for 12 of SJC's 17 shots in a contest that saw the sides record equal shot totals.

Deng (2-2-1) made seven saves and extends his unbeaten streak to three matches.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday, October 3 when they host SUNY Old Westbury in a Skyline Conference showdown at Danzi Stadium at 7:00 pm. Live video and stats available here.