Both Goals Come In Final Minute Of First Half

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - If the first game is any indication, Yale men's soccer fans are in for an exciting 2009 season. The Bulldogs and Quinnipiac played a spirited contest on Saturday in the season opener for both teams and finished in a 1-1 tie before an enthusiastic crowd at Reese Stadium.

The game's two goals were scored 33 seconds apart late in the first half. The Bulldogs jumped on the board first when Scott Armburst settled an Aden Farina-Henry pass and fired a shot inside the right post from 20 yards out.

The lead, though, was shortlived. Quinnipiac's Brett Uttley sent a long ball into the box to Dwayne Mars, who chipped it over Yale goalkeeper Travis Chulick with 26 seconds left in the first half.

Both teams had 18 shots in the game, but Yale had a 9-3 edge in corner kicks.

Chulick finished with four saves for the Bulldogs, while Frederick Hall stopped eight shots for the Bobcats.

Quinnipiac had the better of the play in the first half, outshooting Yale 9-5. The Bulldogs, though, picked up their intensity in the second half.

"I was happy with our response to the first half," said Yale head coach Brian Tompkins. "We were able to put pressure on them further up the field, and we then started to have some success."

The Bulldogs had a number of quality scoring chances. Hall made a nice save through a screen on a Milan Tica free kick from 25 yards. Then with less than six minutes left in the second half, Farina-Henry headed a Justin Song cross just wide of the right post.

Farina-Henry had another good opportunity in the first 10-minute overtime period, but this time his header went wide right.

Quinnipiac nearly won it late in the first overtime when Mars slipped a shot past Chulick, but it deflected off the left post.

"We're still a work in progress, but I think we learned a lot about ourselves tonight," Tompkins said.

The Bulldogs return to action next Friday when they play Adelphi at 5 p.m. on the opening day of Brown's Tournament in Providence, R.I.

Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity