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#16/19 Men's Soccer Rides Quick Start to Overcome Carnegie Mellon

10/26/07

Senior midfielder Matthew Ramirez set up both of his team's goals off corner kicks as the New York University men's soccer team staved off Carnegie Mellon University 2-1 in University Athletic Association (UAA) action Friday night in Pittsburgh.

Ranked #16 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas National Rankings and #19 by d3kicks.com, NYU (12-3-1, 3-2 UAA) earned its fourth straight victory, including its second consecutive UAA triumph.

In addition, the Violets won for just the second time ever at Carnegie Mellon (9-4-1, 0-4-1 UAA), and for the first time there since earning a 2-0 victory on Sept. 11, 1988. The Violets are 5-14-1 all-time against the Tartans and have now won two straight against their Association adversary.

"It was a very good performance," NYU head coach Joe Behan said. "We definitely mentioned before the game about beating CMU on the road. It was a chance to make history."

NYU continued its recent trend of strong starts, striking for two goals in the first 13:17 thanks to a pair of well-timed headers off Ramirez' corner kicks. Sophomore midfielder Christopher Wolf was the beneficiary of the first perfectly placed Ramirez ball at 9:13, deflected into the far post for his second score of the season.

At 13:17, All-American senior midfielder Jeritt Thayer again showed off his penchant for capitalizing upon an opportunity, heading home a Ramirez offering for his 14th goal of the season. It was also Thayer's fifth game-winning goal. He was named to the d3kicks.com Team of the Week earlier in the day for the third time this season.

"Matt struck the ball really well off the corners," Behan said. "It was a good game-opening performance for us. We have been doing well in the opening phases of the game and creating chances in the opening 20 minutes."

However, the Tartans proved plucky in the second half, pulling within 2-1 when Christopher Watts buried his first goal off a feed from Ricky Griffin.

Junior goalkeeper Chris Wright helped NYU keep Carnegie Mellon from forcing an extra session, making all four of his saves over the final 45 minutes.

Matthew Bazin made four stops for CMU, while the Tartans collected one team save in the loss.

The Violets held an 11-8 edge in shots and a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.

"We're keeping our feet firmly on the ground and not getting carried away with any result," Behan said.

NYU returns to action Sunday, Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. when it travels to Atlanta to face Emory University. Emory is ranked #12 by d3kicks.com and is #17 in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings.