OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's soccer team remained unbeaten after picking up a 1-0 win on Tuesday evening at SUNY Oswego.
Gavin Wise '22 won a free kick for the Soaring Eagles in the 21st minute and teammate
Lutho Mlunguza '23 bent a beautiful shot into net for the game-winning goal. The Purple & Gold defense continued its run of strong play, posting their third straight clean sheet.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 1, Oswego 0
LOCATION: Oswego, N.Y.
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (4-0-1, 0-0 E8), Oswego (2-3, 0-0 SUNYAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
A poor throw-in by Oswego led to the free kick in the 21st minute as Wise pressured a Laker defender trying to receive the throw. The defender tried to redirect the ball to his teammate but Mlunguza intercepted it and quickly got the ball to Wise at the top of the 18-yard box. As Wise tried to settle the pass, an Oswego defender stepped across and sent him to the ground.
The referee awarded Elmira a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, where Mlunguza would step up to analyze the shot. He would then bend a perfect ball over the Oswego wall and into the top left corner of the net to give the Soaring Eagles a 1-0 lead. It was a stellar shot that the Oswego goalkeeper had no chance at reaching and would turn out to be the game-winner for the Purple & Gold.
The Lakers would push hard the rest of the match to find an equalizer as they out shot EC 13 to 4 in the second half. Senior goalkeeper
Zachary Raffino '23 would finish the game with five saves, none bigger than the two that came with just 25 seconds left in the game. Oswego's HaJoon Lee blasted a left footed shot from around 20 yards out that forced Raffino into a full length dive to his right. The ball fell inside of the six-yard box with Laker forward Kyle Gehnrich right there to tap it in but he miss timed the shot with his left foot and Raffino pounced on it to end the threat.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold head back to Campus Field on Friday, September 16 for a matchup with SUNY Geneseo. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
