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WAYNE, N.J. – Four first-half goals lifted the William Paterson men's soccer team (11-6-3) past Brooklyn College (9-9-2) in the opening round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) First Round, Saturday, Nov. 11 at Pioneer Soccer Park, advancing the Pioneers into tomorrow's quarterfinal matchup at home.
Sophomore
Darwin Cruz (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) scored twice while junior
Zach Perez (Edison, N.J./Rutgers Prep) added one goal. The Pioneers also used an own goal by the Bulldogs to round out the scoring barrage. Senior
Dante Petrocelli (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) and sophomore
Cameron Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./Saint John Vianney) recorded an assist in the victory to keep the WP season alive.
Sophomore
Kyle Quigley (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington Regional) and senior
Tim Morris (Stony Point, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) combined for five saves in the shutout.
It took just two and a half minutes for the Pioneers to set the tone Saturday, when Allen sent a bending cross into the box on a set piece from the left flank, and Cruz finished with a left-footed shot inside the left post for the game's opening tally. In the 24th minute, a Pioneer was taken down inside the penalty area, setting up Cruz for his second tally of the afternoon as the sophomore placed the penalty kick in the lower right corner of the frame to double the advantage midway through the first half.
Continuing to apply the offensive pressure, sophomore Keysean-Brant Sharp bent a cross into the penalty area from the left wing less than a minute later, but a headed clearance attempt by Brooklyn's back line found its way into the net for an own goal and a 3-0 WP advantage. In the 44th minute the Pioneers put the final nail in the coffin when several one touch passes led to a beautiful pass from Petrocelli to Perez for the junior's second goal of the season and the game's final tally.
The Pioneers had 22 players see action in the first round victory, using a complete team effort to take down the Bulldogs. With the win, WP advances to the quarterfinal round tomorrow afternoon, and will face number two seed New York University at Pioneer Soccer Park, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Admission for that contest is free for all spectators, and fans that cannot make it to Wayne can follow the action online at
www.wpupioneers.com.
For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit
http://www.wpupioneers.com and
http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia.
