STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Tuesday afternoon, the Yale men's soccer team learned it had received six votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches national top-25 poll. Then, the Bulldogs went out and added another accomplishment to their resume to impress the voters.
Paolo Carroll scored his second goal of the game with 6:09 left in the second half to snap a 2-2 tie and lift Yale to a gritty 3-2 victory over Stony Brook at Lavelle Stadium.
The Bulldogs (4-0-2) are unbeaten on the season and have won four straight games, three of which have come on the road.
This one certainly didn't come easily, although it started quite well. Carroll's first goal of the night just nine minutes in gave Yale the early lead.
Eric Lagos assisted on the tally.
It stayed 1-0 until early in the second half when the Seawolves scored twice in a 6-minute, 10-second stretch to take the lead.
The Bulldogs' response, though, was nearly immediate. Less than two minutes after falling behind,
TJ Presthus headed a
Quanah Brayboy free kick into the top corner to tie the score.
That set the stage for Carroll's heroics. Stony Brook goalkeeper Curtis Copenhaver stopped a
Kahveh Zahiroleslam shot, but Carroll was all alone in front to knock home the rebound.
Yale's defense held Stony Brook in check the rest of the way.
"We knew this was going to be a tough game on the road against a good Stony Brook team, and to be fair, they were sharper than us in many ways tonight," said
Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Stony Brook did well to control the midfield on both sides of the ball and we struggled to find a rhythm. Fortunately, we have some players that were able to take the team on their back tonight and make some big plays when needed."
Tuesday's victory came just three days after a 3-2 win at Marquette on Saturday night. Four of Yale's six games have been away from home.
The Bulldogs won't get another chance to make an impression on the top-25 voters before the next poll is released. They are off until facing No. 7 Duke next Tuesday in Durham, N.C.
"We have been going strong for the past several weeks so it will be good to have some time to recover and also some real time to work on some areas we need to improve," Stannard said.
