Men's Soccer Shuts Out Stony Brook, 2-0

BOX SCORE 

 

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall men’s soccer team used two second half scores to rally past Stony Brook in its season opener, 2-0.  Senior Justin McGrath (Brick, N.J.) and junior Eliseo Giusfredi (Paterson, N.J.) found the back of the net for the Pirates.

After an even start to the game, Stony Brook had the first good scoring chance.  A header by Maurice Brown in the 10^th minute went off the post, and Michael Palacio’s follow off the rebound was blocked.

Seton Hall began to take control of the action as the half wore on, and the Pirates would generate two chances before the half.  In the 28^th minute, Giusfredi found freshman Brayan Martinez (West Orange, N.J.) with a slick pass to the middle, but his shot attempt sailed high.  Less than a minute later, Giusfredi worked to the left of the goal, but his shot from a tough angle went wide right.

SHU finally broke through in the 57^th minute.  Giusfredi found Martinez in front of the net, and he quickly slid a pass to McGrath on the left side for a goal from 10 feet out to make it 1-0.

In the 60^th minute, sophomore Pirate goalkeeper Paul McHenry (Ephrata, Pa.) made a spectacular diving save on a James Palumbo shot from the middle to preserve the 1-0 lead.

After a red card to Stony Brook goaltender Dawid Ditrich, Martinez sent the direct free-kick to Giusfredi on the left side, who easily buried the ball in the right of the net for a 2-0 lead in the 82^nd minute.

The Seawolves held an 18-10 advantage in shots, but managed only five on goal, all of which were stopped by McHenry for his second career shutout.  The teams each totaled three corner kicks.

Giusfredi and Martinez shared team-high honors with three shots each.  Brown’s seven shots paced Stony Brook.

The Pirates return to action on Monday night, Sep. 3, when they host Penn at 7:00 p.m.