Box Score

OBERLIN, Ohio - The Allegheny men's soccer (1-0) team took to the field Friday night, looking to start the 2011 season with an opening day victory for the third straight year. In their way were the Colonels of Centre College (0-1), in the opening game of the Oberlin Invitational. In a game that was very evenly matched throughout, the Gators ability to score at the end of each half propelled Allegheny to the 2-0 victory.

It was a very defensive game early on, as both teams held each other to low shot totals in the first half; Centre with a total of four shots, and Allegheny with a total of two shots. However, the Gators would strike first, with just 49 seconds left in the first half as junior Michael Iacono put it past Centre goalkeeper Chris Jackson at the (44:11) mark to give Allegheny a 1-0 lead.

The second half would see much of the same, as once again both defense held true, allowing only 10 combined shot attempts from both squads. It once again came down to the final minutes of the second half, as junior Andrew Zimmer would seal the deal for Allegheny at the (86:23) mark of the second half, putting the Gators up 2-0 with less than four minutes remaining.

Sophomore goalkeeper John Lichina wasted no time picking up where he left off last season, recording five saves for his eighth career shutout, and first on the young season.

Despite being outshot 10-6, and 6-3 on goal, Allegheny's combination of excellent goaltending, steady defense and opportunistic offense helped the Gators to a strong victory out of the gate. The Gators will look to carry that momentum into game two of the Oberlin Invitational, a showdown tomorrow with John Carroll University, scheduled for 5 pm.