La Plume, PA – Abreham Kittel (Trumansburg, NY/Charles O. Dickerson) and Kouassi Kouadio (Mount Pocono, PA/Pocono Mountain East) had a goal and an assist apiece and Haris Sabovic (Brodheadsville, PA/Pleasant Valley) added a pair of assists to lead Keystone College to a crucial, 3-1 victory over visiting Cairn University in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's soccer action on Saturday night.  The Giants, who also got a goal from Brandyn Favero (Beamsville, Ontario/Blessed Trinity Catholic), climb above the .500 mark at 6-5-1 this fall while the Highlanders slip to 7-6-1 overall.  The two sides currently sit tied for fifth in the CSAC with identical, 3-2 records in league play.      
 
Chances were scarce over the first 29 minutes of Saturday night's game, with Cairn having the best opportunity in the 21^st minute with a pair of shots.  Keystone goalkeeper Adam Zbiciak (Saint Johns, MI/St. Johns) made a diving save on the first shot and made a nice reaction shot on the rebound opportunity to keep that game scoreless.
 
Keystone broke the scoreless deadlock in the 30^th minute as Kittel scored his second goal of the season.  Jalen Freeman (Westampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) started the play with a long ball out of the back to Kouadio, who settled the pass before playing a perfectly weighted thru-ball to Kittel, who slotted a shot pass Cairn goalkeeper Mark Heater to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.  The assists for Kouadio and Freeman marked the first collegiate points of both players' careers.
 
The doubles doubled their lead with just 4:11 in the first half with a well-executed set piece.  After being awarded a free kick just outside of the Highlanders' penalty area, Favero ripped a shot through a cluster of players an into the side-netting for his first goal of the season.  Kittel and Sabovic both picked up assists on the goal that gave Keystone a 2-0 halftime lead.
 
Cairn stepped up the offensive pressure in the second half looking to battle their way back into the contest and the visitors did just that in the 67^th minute when Craig Kikendall one-timed a shot on a loose ball from 20 yards out that deflected off of a Keystone defender and into the top of the net to cut the Highlanders' deficit to 2-1.
 
Keystone answered right back, restoring their two-goal edge just 2:40 later by taking advantage of another set piece.  Sabovic served a dangerous cross into the visitor's box where Kouadio out-jumped his defender to head home the first goal of his collegiate career.
 
From their Keystone's defense, led by Favero, Freeman, Djavan Guy (New York, NY/St. John's Prep), and Alex Buchholz (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood) prevented Cairn from having any more dangerous looks at goal to close out the victory.
 
The Giants held a slim, 14-13 edge in shots for the game including a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.  Cairn doubled up Keystone in corner kick chances on the night, 6-3.
 
Zbiciak finished the contest with five saves to earn the win in net for Keystone while Heater suffered the loss in a three-save effort.  The Highlanders also had a goal-bound shot cleared off the line by a defender late in the second half.
 
Keystone will travel to Centenary College on Tuesday for another pivotal CSAC matchup that is set to kickoff at 3:00 p.m. in Hackettstown, New Jersey.