THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College men's soccer team put forth perhaps its best effort of the season in the Skyline Conference opener on Wednesday night. And the Privateers were rewarded for it with a tie.
Jeferson Blanco (New York, NY) scored the equalizer in the 82
nd minute, as Maritime (3-1-2, 0-0-1 Skyline) earned a 1-1 draw with Farmingdale (4-2-2, 1-0-1 Skyline) at Reinhart Field.
Farmingdale got on the board in the 15
th minute, when Tyree Baskin Jr. streaked up the right side, took a diagonal pass from Jose Mejia, and put it past
Augusto Lebron (Valley Stream, NY). The Privateers nearly tied it six minutes later.
Jack Young's (Floral Park, NY) throw in went all the way on goal, but Farmingdale goalkeeper Anthony Martinez misplayed it and the ball ended up in the back of the net. However, the officials ruled that it touched a Maritime hand before going in and waved off the goal.
In the second half,
Chris Vazquez (Woodhaven, NY) had two golden scoring opportunities. He got behind Martinez in the 66
th minute, but the attempt sailed just high. Then in the 74
th minute, Vazquez again snuck past the goalkeeper and had a wide-open net. The Farmingdale defense played it off the end line, though, to maintain the one-goal lead.
Lebron, meanwhile, was doing his part on the other end to keep it 1-0. After only having to stop 16 shots in Maritime's first five contests combined, he was credited with a career-high 14 saves on Wednesday, 10 of which came in the second half alone.
Finally, in the 82
nd minute, the Privateers tied the game. Blanco fired a blast from 35 yards out that sailed just under the crossbar and into the upper left corner for his first collegiate tally. Lebron (3-1-2) made one final save in the 90
th minute to preserve the hard-earned draw.
Martinez (2-1-1) was far less busy than his counterpart, recording one save. Baskin's goal was his third of the season for the Rams.
On Saturday, Maritime plays its first conference road game of the season against defending Skyline champion Manhattanville. Kickoff between the Privateers and Valiants (3-4-1, 1-0-0 Skyline) is slated for 12 p.m.
