NORFOLK, Va. – The opening match of the 2019 season was a memorable one for the Long Island University men's soccer team as the Sharks came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Old Dominion University 2-1 Friday night at the ODU Soccer Complex. Freshman Papa Ndoye slotted the match-winning goal in the 86^th minute for LIU.
 
"In sport no individual can win a game," said head coach Michael Mordocco. "It takes the effort from the entire team. They believe in each other and showed tremendous maturity and resilience. We still need to improve, get better and then do it again!"
 
Ndoye and sophomore Athanasios Coutroumpas each had one goal while Ndoye also had three shots on goal and four shots in total. Along with his goal, Coutroumpas had two shots on goal and three total shots.
 
Junior Chris Capaldo and graduate student Stefan Faistenauer each had an assist while sophomore Javier Rehberger also had one shot on goal and two shots in total.
 
Senior goalkeeper Matias Pesallaccia had an outstanding night for LIU, recording six saves against a potent Old Dominion offense. Graduate student Stefan Faistenauer, senior Kyle Parish and sophomore Fridtjof Andberg each logged 90 minutes in the match and helped keep the Old Dominion's offense at bay.
 
While LIU had several potential scoring opportunities early, the match was a back-and-forth battle from the outset; Ndoye sent a shot wide with 1:48 on the clock then Coutroumpas had a shot saved at 2:28 after a corner kick by sophomore Anton Ocampo.
 
Shortly after, at 2:40, Pesallaccia turned away an ODU shot for his first save of the match. Pesallacia would notch another save with 31:26 on the clock and the match would go into halftime with a score of 0-0.
 
In the 60^th minute the Monarchs would take an 1-0 lead but the Sharks continued to look dangerous; in the 62^nd minute Rehberger had a shot blocked then Ndoye had another shot on goal saved.
 
Coutroumpas would tie the match up in the 82^nd minute, heading the ball into the back left of the net after an assist by Capaldo.
 
With time winding down it was Ndoye, who had given ODU's defenders problems throughout the entirety of the match, who found the back of the net for the match-winner after he used his left foot to send the ball into the left side of the net off an assist by Faistenauer.
 
LIU almost extended its margin of victory as Ocampo had a shot blocked in the 89^th minute but the Sharks would hold on for the thrilling 2-1 victory.
 
Up Next
The Sharks will remain in the state of Virginia for a match against Virginia Commonwealth University (1-0) on Monday, September 2 at 7 p.m. at Sports Backers Stadium.