RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan men's soccer team mounted a furious second half comeback bid behind two goals from sophomore forward Thomas Bandov (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Dobbs Ferry), but could not overcome the entire deficit, falling 3-2 this evening to New Jersey Institute of Technology at Gaelic Park. Highlanders' midfielder Osvaldo Perez scored the game winning goal in the 71st minute to secure the victory.
Kayo Emojong posted NJIT's first goal of the contest at the 28:01 mark. He utilized a pass in the box from teammate Erik Magnusson, juked his defender and slipped a shot into the right corner. Magnusson assisted all three of the Highlanders' goals.
NJIT, now 1-3, carried its 1-0 advantage into intermission.
The Highlanders built upon their lead early in the second stanza. In the 66th minute, forward Eddie Romero finished on a feed while cutting through the box. Romero placed the ball in the right corner of the net. Then in the 71st minute, Perez settled a pass from Magnusson and pushed it just inside the right post.
In the 82nd minute, Bandov ignited the Jaspers offense when he accepted a baseline service from Sean Russell, and sent it into the back of the net. It marked the first goal of Bandov's collegiate career.
With 84:45 on the clock, Bandov struck again when he lofted a fast break shot over the head of NJIT's charging goaltender Ryan Sutherland. Junior midfielder Fabricio Pesantez (Flushing, N.Y.) set up the score with a precise feed inside the box.
Sutherland collected two saves during the contest. Manhattan goalkeeper Randall Brobson (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) tallied four saves over 79 minutes of action.
The Jaspers had a final opportunity to continue the offensive surge and send the game into overtime, but couldn't connect on two corner kicks with less than 20 seconds remaining. Manhattan simply ran out of time, and the Highlanders escaped with the win.
“This was an interesting week for us to say the least,” said Manhattan head coach Michael Swanwick. “After the disappointing loss to FDU, we came back to beat Army, then came out a bit flat today before showing a lot of heart late to almost bring the game back.”
Manhattan (1-3) returns to action on Wednesday when the squad travels cross-town for its meeting with Fordham. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.