Box Score Utica 2, Houghton 1 - Empire 8 Conference Final

Utica, NY (September 20, 2014) – The Utica College men's soccer team rallied from a 1-0 first half deficit, with two goals in the final 28:21 of play, to earn a pivotal 2-1 Empire 8 Conference victory over visiting Houghton College on Saturday night at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. 

Senior Shane Ruffing (Rochester, NY/Westborough) assisted on the first Pioneer goal to knot the score at 1-1 and he also added the game-winner in the 83^rd minute to put the home team on top for good.  The Pioneers snapped a four game winless streak and, more importantly, improved to 1-0 in the highly competitive Empire 8 Conference.  UC (3-2-2 overall) in now 3-0-1 at Gaetano Stadium this season and the Pioneers return home on Tuesday night when they host Head Coach Brian Marcantonio's alma mater, Hamilton College at 7 p.m.

UC fell behind 1-0 in the 17^th minute when Tyler Inch netted his second goal of the season, assisted by Carlos Peregrina, to give the visiting Highlanders the early lead.  The 1-0 score held through halftime until the Pioneers made their late push.

Utica tied the game up in the 62^nd minute when freshman Bita Gazashvili (Tiblisi, Georgia/) sent a perfect ball in to Ruffing, and Ruffing sent a low pass across the goalie box right to the foot of the streaking Chris Stashko (Apalachin, NY/Apalachin). Stashko connected on the right side and pounded the goal into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1.

It appeared that the Pioneers might take the game into overtime for the third time this year until Gazashvili took the ball up the left side in the 83^rd minute and found Ruffing in the middle of the box.  Ruffing collected the pass, made two moves, and drilled the eventual game-winner into the upper right side of the net, much to the delight of the Pioneer faithful.

Gazashvili has a team-best four assists this season, and Ruffing leads the way with 15 points on seven goals and one assist. 

UC goalie David Abdou (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) stopped five shots in the victory and improved his goals against average to 1.19 on the season.

Houghton outshot Utica 9-2 on the afternoon and earned a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.