Men's Soccer: Rivier upended in overtime by Saint Joseph (Conn.)

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier University Men's Soccer team suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime game this afternoon to visiting University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener both squads at Joanne Merrill Field. The Raiders are now 1-3-1 overall (0-1-0 GNAC) while the Blue Jays improve their overall record to 3-1-0 (1-0-0 GNAC).

Rivier broke the scoreless tie in the second half as freshman Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) converted on a penalty kick at 46:28. It was Cortez' fourth goal in the last three games for the Raiders.

The lead would be short lived as the Blue Jays struck back in the 56th minute. Junior Gaetano LaBella (Wethersfield, Conn.) was able to find the upper 90 off a pass from sophomore Daniel Castro (Willimantic, Conn.) to tie the game at one apiece.

The two teams traded chances through the final 34 minutes of action to force overtime. Just over a minute into the first overtime period, USJ was awarded a corner kick and sophomore Hayden Burbank (Southington, Conn.) delivered a perfect chip to the back-post where classmate DeAnte Anderson (Bloomfield, Conn.) was able to leap and head in the game winner.

Rivier senior goalkeeper Collin Deyarmin (Raymond, N.H.) made five saves on seven shots for the Raiders while USJ freshman keeper John Griffin (Southington, Conn.) stopped three of the four shots he faced for the win.

After playing two games in two days, the Raiders have earned some time off before their next scheduled contest on Tuesday night as they host Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 7pm. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will return to the pitch on Wednesday afternoon as they travel to Becker College for a 4pm kickoff.