HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth men's soccer team went ahead, 1-0, early in the second half, but a late penalty kick from the visiting SMU Mustangs, gave the visitors a 2-1 win at Burnham Field on Friday (Sept. 7) night.
Sophomore Alex Adelabu (Houston, Texas) ended a 52:23 stalemate with his first goal of the season. The forward connected with a well-placed long ball out of the back from classmate Colin Heffron (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) and pulled the SMU defender away from the ball before turning back and slotting the ball in the lower left-hand corner to give Dartmouth (1-2-0) the early advantage.
SMU (1-2-1) wouldn't be down for long and tied the game up on a goal from Andrew Morales in the 63rd minute before capitalizing on a penalty kick, which proved to be the game-winner.
Dartmouth, playing a man down as a result of a red card, had a great chance at the equalizer in the 76th minute. Junior Brian Joseff (Santa Barbara, Calif.) broke through the SMU backline and hit a shot from just inside the 10-yard line, but SMU goalkeeper, Jamie Ibarra, came off his line to make the play and preserve the SMU victory.
Georgiou led the offense with a team-best four shots on goal while Joseff and reserve Patrick Murray (Lakewood, Ohio) each had two shots in the contest. Goalkeeper Noah Cohen (Johannesburg, South Africa) played the full 90:00.
Dartmouth's goal was a result of some early second-half offense. The Big Green tallied the first three shots of the second frame, including a header from senior co-captain Teo Larsson-Sax (Kalmar, Sweden) that ricocheted off the crossbar.
SMU opened the game controlling much of the midfield, but Dartmouth settled in midway through the first half and had their first really good opportunity at the 9:51 mark. Senior Andoni Georgiou (London, England) nailed a header from just outside the 18-yard box that skirted just wide of the SMU goal.
Dartmouth tested SMU from that point on, outshooting the Mustangs, 6-4, in the first frame and, 12-10, for the contest.
Senior co-captain Kevin Dzierzawski (Oakland Township, Mich.) also had a chance to give the Big Green the early advantage on a set piece. The midfielder drilled a driven ball and forced Ibarra to grab it out of the air and away from danger.
Arguably the best shot of the first half came on a free kick. Dzierzawski served up a perfect ball from just left of the 18-yard box and it skimmed the head of sophomore Colin Heffron (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) bouncing just wide of the goalmouth and out of bounds.
Dartmouth closes its three-game homestand on Sunday (Sept. 9) when Colgate from the Patriot League makes the trip to Burnham Field. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
AGATE
SMU (1-2-1) vs. Dartmouth (1-2-0)
Date: Sep 07, 2012 Attendance: 1915
Weather: breezy, low 70s
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
SMU................. 0 2 - 2
Dartmouth........... 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 52:23 DART Adelabu, Alex (1) (Heffron, Colin) - long ball from back to goal, slotted left corner
2. 62:24 SMU MORALES, Andrew (ENGEL, Tyler) - scrum in box to goal
3. 69:01 SMU ENGEL, Tyler Penalty kick
Shots: SMU 10, Dartmouth 12
Saves: SMU 2 (IBARRA, Jaime 2), Dartmouth 0 ()
