September 23, 2014

(3-3-2) 1 2 OT1 OT2 F Lafayette 0 0 0 1 1 Albany 0 0 0 0 0 Box Score (2-3-3)

ALBANY, N.Y. - Junior Greg Biggiani beat the Albany goalkeeper with a sliding finish in the 102^nd minute to capture a 1-0 victory for the Lafayette men's soccer team in Albany, N.Y. on Tuesday evening.

After three periods and change of scoreless soccer, sophomore Ryan Egan started the golden-goal play with an intercepted pass near the middle of the field. Junior Nate Arronson made a run down the far side to the left of the Albany goal and Egan fed it to him on the side of the box wide.

While Arronson made his run to the outside, Biggiani was streaking up the middle of the field in behind the Albany defense that was still caught recovering from the Egan-caused change of possession. With the defense out of position, Arronson fed the ball across the goal mouth, finding the foot of Biggiani, who slotted it home comfortably and ran into the arms of his teammates storming the field.

Although scoreless for its majority, this was a game of chances as Albany very nearly took the lead in the 20^th minute on a corner. The Albany cross found the foot of a Great Danes' forward with no one to beat but Lafayette goalkeeper Sandy Leavy. Somehow, Leavy was able to get his body in front of the point blank shot to keep the home team off the board.

Senior Chandler Fraser-Pauls also had his chance to put the Leopards in front with 18 minutes left on what may have been called a freak goal. The midfielder sent a shot of the shoulder of an Albany defender and onto the crossbar of the goal before being cleared away. Luckily for the Leopards, Biggiani made sure that they didn't need to dwell on that chance.

Leavy, the reigning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week, made three saves in the contest to push his shutout streak to three straight games. On the other side, Albany's Tim Allen recorded one save on the night.

Lafayette led the way in shots, 14-6, and worked six corner-kick opportunities compared to just two for the Great Danes. After starting the season 1-3, the Maroon and White have fought their way back to the .500 mark, currently sitting at 3-3-2 on the year.

After three straight games away from College Hill, the Leopards finally return home on Saturday when they open Patriot League play against Colgate at 1 p.m.