PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University men's soccer team defeated the New England College Pilgrims, 2-1, in a non-conference matchup at Panther Field on Friday.
Senior
Faisal Abdallah (Accra, Ghana) took just ten minutes to register the first goal of the campaign for the Panthers, making his case to be the leading scorer at Plymouth State for the third consecutive year.
The Pilgrims tied things up in the first half, but a second goal by Abdallah put the Panthers back in front with the eventual game winner. Sophomore
Hunter Holland (Hampton, N.H.) was credited with the assist on the first goal.
The match was the first for both schools as Plymouth State opens its season at 1-0-0, while the Pilgrims fall to 0-1-0.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 2, NEC 1
- Plymouth State (1-0-0)
- NEC (0-1-0)
How it Happened:
- Abdallah wasted no time to tally his first goal of the season. In the 10th minute, a turnover from a Pilgrim center back found Holland's foot as the NEC high back line got caught with the one-time ball in behind for Abdallah to run onto. The opposing keeper attempted to come out of his box to knock the ball away, but composure was shown to touch the ball past the goalkeeper and Abdallah placed it into the empty net to give the Panthers the early 1-0 advantage.
- NEC started to apply late first half pressure, forcing a double save by PSU senior goalkeeper Nicolas Cornejo Mora (Durham, N.H.) in the 37th minute.
- Three minutes later, after an indirect free kick was called against the Panthers, the Pilgrims played a good ball into the Plymouth State area forcing Cornejo Mora to attempt to intercept the flighted pass. An NEC forward flicked the ball past the PSU goalkeeper to tie the game at one apiece with less than five minutes until half time.
- Abdallah struck again two minutes later, wasting no time to record his second goal of the game to put the Panthers up 2-1 in the 42nd minute. A Plymouth State clearance turned a comfortable touch into a nightmare for the Pilgrims, as the striker pounced on a heavy touch and beat two defenders to get in on the opposing keeper and strike to the back post.
- The 2-1 scoreline remained as the referee blew the whistle to signal halftime.
- Plymouth State came out fast to start the second half - forcing multiple saves and goal-line clearances as the Pilgrims clung to a single-goal deficit.
- Each team created scoring chances throughout the second half, but neither side was able to convert as the Panthers notched their first victory of the season with a 2-1 final score.
By the Numbers:
- Plymouth State outshot the Pilgrims 18-10 in the contest.
- NEC registered 7 corner kicks to the Panthers' 3.
- The Pilgrim goalkeeper recorded 5 saves while Cornejo Mora made 4 of his own.
- The Panthers received one card in the match, while NEC recorded three yellow cards.
- The Panthers hold a 6-4-2 lifetime head-to-head advantage over New England College dating back to the teams' first matchup in 1988.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State is right back in action tomorrow. The Panthers make the short trip to New London, N.H. for a 5:00 p.m. matchup with Colby-Sawyer.
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