BOX SCORE (.html)
BOX SCORE (.pdf)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall men’s soccer team opened its 2008 season in fine fashion on Friday night at Owen T. Carroll Field, defeating Monmouth in an overtime thriller, 1-0. Senior Carlos Salazar (Kearny, N.J.) scored in the 95th minute to give the Pirates (1-0-0) their first win of 2008.
Senior Christian Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) controlled the ball in the left corner before sending a quick pass to Salazar in the middle. Salazar delivered a quick shot past Monmouth keeper Bryan Meredith into the back of the net, setting off a raucous celebration.
Junior goalkeeper Paul McHenry (Ephrata, Pa.) was spectacular in net for the Hall, stopping six shots. Late in the first half he made a brilliant play, breaking up a potential 2-on-1 situation for Monmouth by coming out of the box and knocking the ball from the Hawks’ possession.
Meredith made six saves for Monmouth, which fell to 0-1-0 on the season.
The Pirates ended up with a 19-13 advantage in shots, led by six attempts from sophomore Brayan Martinez (West Orange, N.J.). Sophomore Jerry Saintil (East Orange, N.J.) was next with four attempts, while his classmate, Dritan Sela (Wayne, N.J.), had three, including a near-miss on a header in the first half.
Seton Hall returns to action on Monday at 7:00 p.m. when it hosts St. Peter’s.
