BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against William Paterson in Friday evening's season opener at Hempstead Stadium.
After a scoreless first half in which Endicott outshot William Paterson 8-3, the Gulls found the first goal of match in the 50th minute via Tiago Frazao (Trumbull, Conn.) and Conor Rooney (Monroe, Conn.).
Rooney found space up top on the left side and slipped the ball off to Frazao over the middle of the field, which set him up for a quick pivot, shot, and goal that trickled past the Pioneers goalkeeper.
Just a few minutes later, the Pioneers managed to break away from the Gulls defense and drew a foul from inside the box to set up a penalty kick. They capitalized on the opportunity and knotted the score at 1-1 in the 56th minute.
Both teams gave themselves a few other opportunities to take a lead late in the match, but neither was able to break through prior to the buzzer sounding in the 90th minute.
The Gulls defense was on display in the match, particularly in the first half. Senior back Codan Foley (Carver, Mass.) returned to action, as he made his first appearance in a match since November 2, 2022. He, Konrad Krysztoforski (Bydgoszcz, Poland), and Hayden Laske (Wethersfield, Conn.) led the strong Gulls backfield throughout the contest.
Sophomore goalkeeper Michael McDonough (Dedham, Mass.) made his first career start in net for the Gulls and kept the Pioneers off the board, aside from the penalty kick.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With the tie, Endicott moves to 0-1-1 in the all-time series against William Paterson. The two teams previously met on August 31, 2013, when the Pioneers snagged a 1-0 win.
- Frazao's goal was the 19th of his career, which moves him into sole possession of sixth place all-time on the Blue and Green's career leaderboard.
- Rooney and Frazao combined to tally all four of Endicott's shots on goal in the match (two each).
- Freshmen Liam Stapleton (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.), Peyton Luther (Ledyard, Conn.), and Matheus Moreno (Danvers, Mass.) made their collegiate debuts in the match.
- Each team had three corner kick opportunities in the contest.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (0-0-1) welcomes Coast Guard to the nest tomorrow for a 5 PM contest. William Paterson (0-0-1) travels to Gordon tomorrow for a 5 PM kick off.
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Photo Credit - (Kaeli Talora '25)
