UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's soccer team hosted the Hamilton College Continentals in a local rivalry matchup on Wednesday night, and the teams delivered a thriller. Despite Hamilton holding a heavy lead in the shot totals, the teams entered the half tied 1-1. Through a hard-fought second half, a tie seemed inevitable until Hamilton scored with 1.9 seconds left on the clock to steal the win. Utica falls to 7-4-4 on the year, while Hamilton climbs to 6-5-3 and 5-0 outside of the NESCAC.
Felix-Assa Loselose (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) scored the lone Pioneer goal, as well as accounting for a second of Utica's three total shots on goal. Loselose's score was set up by the team's top two assisters,
Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) and
Carter Cookinham (Poland, NY/Poland).
Henry Schweitzer (Clinton, NY/Clinton) took Utica's final shot on goal. Freshman
Cian LeVasseur (Salem, MA/St. Mary's) had an all-time performance in his collegiate debut. The freshman keeper from Salem, Massachusetts, made numerous high-flying saves, ending with a total of 10 saves across 12 shots seen. Both goals allowed by LeVasseur came on the delivery of Hamilton corner kicks.
Zach Tracy scored the buzzer-beater for Hamilton, his fourth goal of the year. The Continentals' other goal came off the foot of Aidan Falvey. Falvey's goal was unassisted, with Brady Hyland assisting on Tracy's winner. Aedan Burke, Troy Miller, and Mylon Oliver each finished with two shots on goal for Hamilton. Finn Wheeler served as the keeper for the visitors, saving two of his three shots faced.
The Pioneers opened the scoring at the 12:36 mark. The team was awarded a throw-in in front of their own bench. The thrown ball was first touched by the head of Cookinham, redirecting the ball to the feet of Mugushu. Just a few yards away, Loselose began a perfectly timed cut upfield. Mugushu led the ball out ahead of Loselose, giving the junior forward a one-on-one chance with the Hamilton keeper. With the defense closing down, Loselose shot from 15 yards out to the lower right corner, beating the keeper and giving Utica an early lead.
Hamilton's tying goal came with five and a half minutes left in the first half. The pressure began with a free kick roughly 25 yards diagonally to the left of the goal, awarded after a yellow card for a rough challenge. The initial attempt was bounced off a Utica defender inside the penalty area, and out the backline, giving the Continentals a corner kick. Falvey found an opening inside the penalty area, redirecting the corner kick into the net and evening the game.
The Continentals clinched their 12th consecutive win over Utica with just 1.9 seconds left on the clock. The visitors pushed down the field in the final 30 seconds, earning a corner kick as the ball crossed the backline at the 15-second mark. The Hamilton corner taker rushed to get his attempt off and give his team a chance, kicking the ball as the final 10-second countdown started over the public address. Both teams had several strong challenges with the ball, with Hyland kicking the ball towards the left post with less than five seconds left. Tracy was standing close to the post and tapped the ball in to win the game and end the Pioneers' four-game unbeaten streak.
The Pioneers' next game will carry heavy postseason implications. On Saturday, October 25th, the squad travels to face SUNY Brockport, the current #2 seed in the E8. That game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 pm at A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field. Utica returns home to face Keuka next Wednesday, the 29th, at 7:00 pm. These games will conclude Utica's regular season. The Pioneers, the current #4 seed, can finish anywhere from #2 to #6 with the remaining games on the schedule. Teams that rank in the top four in the E8 Tournament are guaranteed at least one home game in the first round.