La Plume, PA – Justin White scored with 5:24 left in regulation on Saturday night lift reigning Colonial States Athletic Conference men's soccer champion Centenary College to a 2-1 comeback victory over Keystone College. The Cyclones improve to 9-4-1 on the season and 4-2 in the CSAC with the win while the Giants, who got a goal from
Eddy Enowbi (Silver Spring, MD/Springbrook), drop to 8-5 this fall and 2-3 in conference play.
Centenary had the game's first good opportunity in the 16
th minute when Quinn Khouri skipped a hard shot from the top of the box that
Anthony Cutillo (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) denied with a fine diving save. At the other end,
Julio Pertuz (Caracas, Venezuela/EU Noestra Senora de las Mercedes) made a long run with the ball and slipped a shot just wide of the far post in the 21
st minute.
Massimo Lahey (Stroudsburg, PA/Pocono Mountain East) nearly broke the deadlock in the 32
nd minute, but his goal-bound header off a Pertuz corner kick was cleared off the line by a defender for the Cyclones.
The game would remain scoreless at halftime with Centenary holding a narrow, 8-6 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes of play while Keystone doubled up the Cyclones in corner kick opportunities, 4-2.
Keystone again nearly broke through in the 60
th minute when Enowbi had a shot denied by Centenary goalkeeper Jesse Goleman, who was then able to get just enough of
Aadil Mendez (Bartonsville, PA/Pocono Mountain East)'s rebound shot to deflect it over the crossbar. Enowbi would break through in the 67
th minute, gaining control of a loose ball in the Cyclones penalty box before ripping home a shot to the far post to give Keystone a 1-0 lead. The goal was the freshman's 12
th of the season which is the most in a single year by a Keystone player since 2004.
Centenary needed just 1:16 of game action to equalize as the visitors were awarded a penalty kick following a Keystone foul in their box. Khouri stepped up to the spot and made no mistake with his 12-yard attempt to knot the game at 1-1 in the 68
th minute. Khouri and Enowbi are now tied atop the scoring chart in the CSAC with both 12 goals apiece as well as 29 points apiece on the year.
Keystone controlled much of the offensive pressure in the final 20-plus minutes while holding a 13-7 advantage in shots in the second half, but it was Centenary, who was playing with just nine players after having two players sent off in the second half, who would get the game-winner. In the 85
th minute, White took a ball down the left flank and dribbled just inside the corner of the 18-yard box before curling a perfectly placed shot into the upper side netting to give the Cyclones the improbable go ahead goal.
The Giants pushed for a late equalizer, but were unable to find with
Abreham Kittel (Trumansburg, NY/Charles O. Dickerson) missing just over the bar in the last moments of the game to preserve the win for Centenary.
Goleman earned the win for the Cyclones after making seven saves for the game while Cutillo suffered the loss despite making six stops on the evening.
Keystone will make the short trip down to Scranton, Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon for a CSAC tilt against Marywood University. Opening kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.