Boxscore


BROOKLYN, NEW YORK --- Junior midfielder Adam Maabdi scored a pair of goals as the St. Francis (N.Y.) Terriers won their fourth straight and defeated the NJIT Highlanders, 2-1, on Wednesday evening in a non-conference tilt at Aviator Sports Complex.

St. Francis (4-2-1) opened the scoring in the fifth minute as Maabdi, a native of Honnecourt Sur Escault, France, blasted a shot to the left of Higlanders' netminder Adriano Deabreu for his first tally on the night. Senior Jonas Pantelidis and sophomore forward Gabriel Bagot were each credited with assists as they were able to beat the defense on a well-executed give-and-go. It was the second assist of the campaign for both players.

The Highlanders (1-5-2) had a chance to tie the match in the opening half when Luis Granizo beat his defender and rocketed a shot off the near post, thus keeping the visitors off the scoreboard. The next offensive opportunity for NJIT came when Adisa Craig launched an attempt that sailed high over the net in the 33rd minute.

The Terriers tried to increase pressure on the visitors in the 36^th minute when Maabdi was able to split two defenders but misfired on a shot that trickled to the right of the net. 

Just prior to intermission, Nils Warfving of NJIT had a clear shot on goal but Terriers' junior goalie Tyler Clarhaut was able to stand firm and make an acrobatic save on the Highlander midfielder, keeping the Terrier advantage entering the break. 

St. Francis added to their lead as they converted on a defensive misplay by NJIT in the 73^rd minute, as Maadbi tallied his second goal of the match and his third of the season.  NJIT had difficulty clearing the zone and the ball was played by the 6'1 midfielder, who was left uncontested, and then delieverd a strike to the left corner to stake his team to a 2-0 advantage.

The Highlanders finally capitalized on a late opportunity in the 86^th minute, when Franco Gamero scored the lone Highlander goal after he was left unguarded and scorched one past Clarhaut to cut the Terriers' lead to 2-1.  But the visitors were unable to get the equalizer despite a frantic push in the closing minutes.

Clarhaut finished with four saves while his counterpart, Deabreu, finished the match with six stops. The Terriers outshot the Highlanders by a 15-10 advantage while NJIT recorded a match-high seven corner kicks.

"NJIT played a good game," said Terriers' head coach Tom Giovatto. "We were very good at times but need to be more consistent."