WOOSTER, Ohio – Allegheny earned its second straight North Coast Athletic Conference victory, topping Wooster 2-1 in a physical, fast-paced match at Carl Dale Field.
 
After jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first half, Allegheny (5-10-1, 2-5-1 NCAC) withstood a second half Wooster (6-10-1, 1-6-1 NCAC) charge to hold on for the win, as keeper David Stekla made a pair of late saves to preserve the one-goal victory.
 
In a tight match that featured a total of 18 fouls and five yellow cards between the two squads, Allegheny held a slim 17-15 advantage in shots, with Wooster tallying 11 of their attempts over the final 45 minutes.
 
The Gators used a pressing offense to get off to a strong start, and earned their first corner kick just 66 seconds into the game.  While the corner kick came up empty, the field would remain tilted in Allegheny's favor, as the Gators barely let the ball out of Wooster territory.
 
Ten minutes into play, the pressure paid off, as Danny Reid fed Jon Sion in front, and the junior would convert for his second goal of the season to put the Gators in front 1-0.
 
A little more than a minute after Sion's strike, the Gators nearly made it 2-0, but Bryce Evans' sliding blast from inside the box was saved by Wooster keeper Will Collis.   Allegheny would hold on to the momentum, tallying six more shots and a corner kick between the 19th and 25th minutes, but were unable to add a second marker.

With just under 14 minutes left in the half, a free kick led to a pair of Wooster shots that were blocked, but the Gators quickly went on the counter attack, gaining their third corner kick of the half with 11:40 left.  Reid's corner was sent into traffic, and deflected off of a Wooster defender and into the net to up the Gator lead to 2-0, which is where it would stand at the intermission.
 
The tables turned in the second half, as Wooster looked to gain the momentum from the start.  Four minutes into the second frame, the Fighting Scots found the scoreboard, when Mouhament Ndiaye's leaping header off of a long throw in found the upper corner of the net. 

Ndiaye's goal reinvigorated the Fighting Scots, who would tally three shots and two corner kicks in the subsequent five minutes, but they were unable to net the equalizer.
 
The pace would pick up in the 79th minute.  After Collis stopped a Tolossa Hassan shot, Wooster went on the counter attack, and Stekla was forced to make his first big save of the day, a diving stop off of a one-timer in the middle of the box.  This stop led to a Gator attack, and Liam McKersie came inches away from scoring his team's third goal on a leaping header that sailed just over the crossbar with eight minutes left to play.
 
With five minutes left to play, an Allegheny foul led to a Wooster free kick from less than 20 yards out, but it was snuffed out by the Gator defense.   The Fighting Scots' final attempt at a game-tying tally came with 1:19 left, but Stekla again made a diving safe to punch away the shot.  An attempt off the rebound went wide, and the Gators would hold on for the win.
 
Stekla finished the day with three saves, all coming in the second half, while Collis totaled four saves in the loss.  A total of 10 different players accounted for Allegheny's 17 shots, led by three apiece from Miller and Hassan.  Sion, McKersie, and Reid were each credited with two shots.
 
Up next, the Gators will close out the 2017 season with a Senior Day battle against NCAC-leading Kenyon on Saturday, October 28 at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.  Gametime is 2 p.m.