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#4/8 Men's Soccer Overcomes Elizabethtown 2-1 in Season Opener

09/01/07

Senior midfielder Jeritt Thayer flashed the form that made him an All-American last fall, tallying two goals as the New York University men's soccer team opened its 2007 season with a 2-1 victory over Elizabethtown College in the Stevens Institute of Technology College Classic on Saturday at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Ranked #4 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and #8 by d3kicks.com, the Violets controlled most of the action, advancing frequently into Elizabethtown's end of the pitch and owning a 21-10 edge in shots in the first of their seven matches this season against opponents who qualified for the 2006 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

"A brilliant first start," NYU head coach Joe Behan said. "Elizabethtown's one of the top teams in the country. I thought it was a very good performance for NYU. We had a couple of chances early on that we didn't score on, but we kept going."

Thayer's ability to capitalize ultimately proved the difference. A Second Team NSCAA Division III and a Third Team d3kicks.com All-American last autumn, Thayer headed home a pair of passes off two well-executed passes from freshman midfielder Anthony Tumbiolo.

Elizabethtown opened the scoring when senior forward George Severini headed home freshman midfielder Andrew Filewicz' corner kick at the 23:17 mark. The Violets responded in kind, as Tumbiolo lofted a perfect ball into the box and Thayer headed it across the goal line from five yards out at 25:58 to forge a 1-1 deadlock.

NYU narrowly missed on a few other strong opportunities in the first half and early in the second stanza before the Thayer-Tumbiolo combination produced more magic. Tumbiolo collected a ball about 40 yards from the goal, advanced up the left side and floated a cross off his left foot to Thayer, who used his head to push the go-ahead goal into the net with 31:06 remaining in regulation.

"Anthony's got a sweet left leg. He gets very creative," Behan said. "And, Jeritt's just aggressive."

Elizabethtown's best scoring opportunity in the second half came shortly after Thayer's second tally, when junior defender Wes Bunting's header was stopped by a sprawling Chris Wright. The Blue Jays also saw two shots blocked in the final two minutes.

A 2006 First Team All-Metropolitan Region selection by d3kicks.com, Wright, a junior, finished with two saves.

Junior Greg Snow stopped seven shots for the Blue Jays, the 2006 Commonwealth Conference champions who beat three-time NCAA Division III National Champion Messiah College in the Commonwealth Conference Tournament last season.

"This is huge, a great way to start the season," Thayer said.. "Starting off 1-0 is 100 times better than starting off 0-1."

NYU will face host Stevens Tech on Sunday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. in a rematch of a 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship sectional semifinal. The Violets and Ducks played to a 1-1 tie in that game, but NYU advanced 3-1 on penalty kicks and eventual reached the Division III Final Four.