by Warren Kozireski
Brandon ConleySophomore Ricky DiPasquale netted a second half goal and took the indirect kick that led to a late first half tally as Roberts Wesleyan shutout Point Park 3-0 in their men’s soccer home opener.
The Redhawks weathered three solid scoring chances over the first five minutes of the contest before settling down.
They broke the scoreless tie in the 42nd minute when DiPasquale sent an indirect kick from just inside midfield into the box. The ball was briefly tied up among two players and the Point Park goalkeeper before falling to the ground where Matthew Hohler got a foot on it for a 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes into the second half, DiPasquale found the net from 40 yards away when the Pioneer’s goalkeeper came way out of his net and misplayed the ball. DiPasquale shot high over his head as he retreated to make it 2-0 Redhawks.
In the 67th minute, Tedroy Jackson crossed to Michael Cunningham who deked around the defense and found the net from five yards out for the final goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Scavone made three saves – all in the first five minutes of the contest – in earning his first shutout of the season.
“We had a slow start, but once we warmed up we went at them,” said senior defender and Brockport High grad Brandon Conley. “We’ve been working on our defense all preseason, so congrats to our back four.”
Head coach Mark Fish also was alarmed by the opening minutes. “We played terribly at the start, but after that we settled down. It’s nice to get the shutout collectively. We stayed behind the ball and stayed organized plus isolated one-on-one on the attack.”
The Redhawks will have four more home contests in September with Daemon (9/12), Mercy (9/21), Buffalo State (9/26) and NYIT (9/29). Mercy and NYIT are new conference opponents as Roberts makes the transition to Division II and the East Coast Conference.
