Box Score Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (10/24/2015) – The Chestnut Hill College men's soccer team was down – a goal and a man, at various times – during the second half of this afternoon's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) clash with visiting Nyack College. But the Griffins were far from out, and their resiliency paid huge dividends in the form of an epic end to a Senior Day stunner orchestrated, fittingly, by a pair of seniors who took the field and left it to huge applause.
Matthew Casaletto (Sewell, N.J.) picked out midfield mate
Nicholas Jaffe (Sao Paulo, Brazil) with a deep ball down the right flank, which soon found its way to the back of the net as Jaffe powered home a golden goal with 6:26 to play in overtime to hand the Scarlet and Gold a monumental victory in the league playoff race. The veteran heroics allowed Chestnut Hill College to leave the field a winner in overtime for the first time since 2011, snapping a 10-game winless streak in such contests.
A critical contest between teams separated by just a point in the conference table picked up steam in a big way after a scoreless opening half. Nyack College (5-8-1, 4-5-1) seized the upper hand shortly after intermission when freshman midfielder Simon Kraemer (Wentdorf, Germany) turned and blasted a left-footed shot into the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 advantage at the 49:44 mark.
Chestnut Hill College (6-6-2, 5-4-2) used a fortuitous bounce to draw even. Freshman forward
Jason Burns (Douglassville, Pa.) took a pass from junior defender
Nils Fussen (Aachen, Germany) near the end line and sent an angled shot toward Warriors freshman keeper Wiktor Lasota (Lodz/Warsaw, Poland). Lasota closed the window with his body, but Burns' low offering slipped through his hands and into the back of the net for a surprising equalizer (75:11). That was just the prelude to a tense, unforgettable finish.
The Griffins' chances took a hit when they were assessed a red card with 10:35 remaining in the second half, giving the Warriors a man advantage with which to work. The Scarlet and Gold stonewalled Nyack College long enough to get to an extra session, however, and rest was unforgettable history.
Just 3:34 into the first overtime period, Casaletto took a touch near the midfield stripe and sent a high-arching ball down the right flank, where Jaffé was making a run. The Griffins' leading scorer put his all-region pedigree on display, bringing the ball down and racing into the box, where he fired a scorching shot past the outstretched arms of Lasota and into the Warrior net, setting off a wild celebration on the far side of the field and putting a storybook stamp on a scintillating affair.
Lasota finished with five saves for Nyack College, and freshman forward Finn Reese (Hamburg, Germany) led the offensive attack with three of the team's nine shots.
Jaffé attempted eight of the Griffins' 18 shots on the day, with his eighth and final effort resulting in his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Burns notched his second career goal on his only shot of the day, while Fussen garnered his third assist of the campaign. Casaletto's helper was his first of the season and the third of his career.
Junior goalkeeper
James Jackson (Sewell, N.J.) made one save and improved to 6-5-2 on the season.
Another fitting coincidence, Chestnut Hill College's previous overtime victory came on Senior Day against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Ten games had gone to an extra session (or two) since then, with six ending in draws and the other four in defeat. The Griffins changed the paradigm this time, however, and picked up an enormous result in the process. With three points in hand, they now sit in seventh place in the CACC standings with one match remaining. With a litany of playoff scenarios at play on the season's last day, the Griffins are at least assured that a victory against crosstown rival Philadelphia University in their finale will clinch a berth in the CACC Championship Tournament.
Kickoff for the rivalry showdown is set for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28.
