St. Francis Brooklyn Soccer Tops NEC Rival CCSU on Overtime Goal

With seven wins and three ties in their last 11 games, the St. Francis Brooklyn men’s soccer team (7-5-3; 2-1-1 NEC) is heating up just when it matters most.

As reported by Patrick McCormack, sophomore midfielder Salvatore Barone converted a pass from Nyle Patel in front of the Central Connecticut State net for the game-winner with 18 seconds remaining in the first overtime, giving the Terriers a 1-0 win over the Blue Devils (5-7-2; 1-2-1 NEC) Friday night at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The two teams are going in opposite directions during the stretch run for the Northeast Conference (NEC) playoffs. CCSU—a preseason favorite for the NEC title—has lost or tied six of its past seven matches.

St. Francis, which last year captured its first NEC title in 14 years, is led on offense by the French Connection: John Makay, a junior transfer from Montpellier, has a team high 7 goals, while Vincent Bezecourt—a freshman from Aire sur l’Adour—tops the Terriers with five assists.

Junior Jack Binks (Darlington, England) has been superb in SFC goal this season, giving up a stingy .75 goals per game while registering seven shutouts.

Today St. Francis travels to Rhode Island to take on Bryant University (7-4-2; 3-0-1) at 1pm. The Bulldogs sit in second place in the NEC standings while the Terriers are third. The conference’s top four teams qualify for the NEC playoffs with the winner receiving an automatic berth in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament.

Looming for the Terriers is a regular season-ending match at Brooklyn Bridge Park against arch-rival LIU Brooklyn (3-10; 2-2 NEC) on Sunday, November 9 at 1pm.

PHOTO CAPTION: St. Francis Brooklyn sophomore midfielder Salvatore Barone

PHOTO CREDIT: St. Francis Brooklyn Athletics