NEW YORK, NY- The Keystone College men's soccer team battled Pratt Institute to a 1-1 draw Tuesday afternoon at Randall's Island Park.
The Giants came out with plenty of offensive pressure from the start, recording 11 shots in the opening half and keeping the Pratt defense busy throughout the first 45 minutes. Keystone created its first good opportunity in the 15th minute when John Covert (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport) put a shot toward the bottom left corner, but Pratt goalkeeper Hayden Pettit made the save.
Covert continued to find opportunities, recording another pair of shots later in the half. Christiano Richards also tested Pettit twice, including a shot in the 20th minute that was saved in the bottom center of the goal.
Keystone continued to control the attacking chances as the half went on. Lenskey Raoul (Neptune Township, NJ/Neptune) put a pair of shots toward goal in the final five minutes of the half, with Pettit making another save on Raoul's attempt in the 41st minute. Barrett Wood (Norfolk, VA/Matthew Fontaine Maury) added another shot on goal shortly before halftime, but Pratt managed to keep the match scoreless.
The Giants carried that offensive pressure into the second half.
Keystone's first opportunity after the break came just 50 seconds into the half when Jack Feinberg (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek Regional) put a shot on goal that was saved by Pettit. Aiden Cummings (Baltimore, MD/Mount Saint Joseph) then nearly gave the Giants the lead in the 54th minute, hitting the right post with a shot.
Keystone continued to generate chances, with Wood and Richards each recording shots as the Giants worked to break through. James Kallens (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central Regional) came up with saves on the other end, stopping Pratt's Costa Dylan and Dylan Knott early in the half.
The pressure finally paid off in the 65th minute.
After earning a corner kick, Keystone broke through at 64:30 when Joel Calle (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) found the back of the net off an assist from Marcos Louzada (Guacui, Espirito Santo, Brazil/The Webb School). The goal gave the Giants a 1-0 lead and capped a sustained offensive attack that had produced several quality chances throughout the match.
Pratt responded quickly, however, tying the match just under four minutes later. Lucca Novi scored at 68:29 off an assist from Alexander Litzenberger to make it a 1-1 game.
Neither side was able to find the deciding goal over the final 21 minutes. Richards continued to create chances for the Giants, putting two more shots toward goal in the second half, both of which were saved by Pettit. Keystone also earned additional corner kicks as it looked for another opportunity to take the lead.
Kallens kept the match tied late, making saves on chances from Griffin Benkovszky and Aditya Shivkumar during a stretch of Pratt pressure in the final 15 minutes.
Keystone finished the match with a 21-15 advantage in shots, including a 10-6 edge in shots on goal. The Giants also earned seven corner kicks and forced Pettit to make nine saves. Pratt finished with seven corner kicks, while Kallens recorded five saves for Keystone.
The Giants aim to keep this momentum as the team heads on the road on Saturday, September 12 at Elmira College.
