New Paltz Falls 3-2 in Overtime to Wheaton

NORTON, MA — The SUNY New Paltz Hawks opened their 2006 campaign with a tough 3-2 overtime decision to the Wheaton College Hawks.

New Paltz wasted little time on the offensive end to start play, as the Hawks took the opening kick and stormed down the field to score just 18 seconds into the contest. Senior Greg Foss (Queensbury, NY/Lake George) was credited with the unassisted tally and will go down in the New Paltz men’s soccer record book for the quickest goal scored in a game.

Wheaton responded with the game-tying goal in the 20th minute, as senior Cameron Habib (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy) and sophomore Jeff Shea (Canton, MA/Canton) used a well-executed give-and-go to knot the score.

Shea, who picked up the goal from Habib in the opening half, had a hand in the Lyons’ second-half tally, finding sophomore Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy) for a 2-1 lead at 63:43. Lane nearly put the game away with a pair of opportunities in the waning minutes of the stanza, but with 2:04 remaining Hawk senior Joe Fabian (Selden, NY/Newfield) posted the equalizer with a shot over the outstretched reach of Wheaton senior goalkeeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) to send the game to overtime.

In the extra session, sophomore Justin Hart (Ashland, MA/Ashland) registered the game-winner on a feed from senior Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness School). Tatum lifted the ball over the New Paltz defense, allowing Hart to catch up to it and poke his sliding shot over senior keeper Jeffrey Dudley (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill), whose sliding attempt for the save fell just short.

Dudley finished with three saves in the loss, while Pachniuk picked up the win with six saves. The Lyons held a slim 14-12 shot advantage and a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

New Paltz will be back in action on Monday, September 4 as they travel to take on NYU at 4:00 p.m.