Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
6-3-3, 3-1-1
University at Albany
3-6-3, 2-0-1
Men's Soccer Stays Hot with 1-0 Victory at UAlbany
October 11, 2022 | Men's Soccer
| Game 12 | |
|---|---|
| SCORE | Army West Point Black Knights 1, UAlbany Great Danes 0 |
| SCORERS | ARMY- Sam Epitime (PK, 66') |
| RECORDS | Army West Point (6-3-3, 3-1-1 PL), UAlbany (3-6-3, 2-01 AE) |
| LOCATION | Tom and Mary Casey Stadium - Albany, N.Y. |
ALBANY, N.Y. - Army West Point men's soccer collected a 1-0 victory on the road against the University of Albany Great Danes on Tuesday night. Sam Epitime scored on a penalty kick in the 66th minute as Army pulled out the victory while playing over 60 minutes with ten men.
The game marked Army's final non-league contest of the season, as the Black Knights will have four more regular season contests to decide the Patriot League playoff picture. Army currently stands in a tie for first place in the conference with ten points through five games played.
Through the opening stages in Albany, both teams settled into the contest with little to no scoring chances. Albany put together one shot on target through the first 25 minutes, with Saad Faiz seeing a lone-range effort saved by Tomas Hut. Army's best chance of the first half came from a Sam Epitime run down the left side with an ensuing cross placed across net just out of the reach of Brandon Bryant.
In the 25th minute, the game would change entirely for the Black Knights who were put down to ten men after receiving a red card from a hard challenge. The Great Danes were not able to capitalize in the first half but kept Army at bay without an attempt on target through the first 45 minutes.
The deciding moment in the game would come in the 65th minute, beginning with Sam Epitime intercepting a long pass in Army's end. Epitime dribbled forward, before switching play over to Jacob Lee on the right hand side, who delivered a service back to Epitime who had made a run into the box. Epitime went on to dribble past an Albany defender, before being fouled on his way in on goal to give Army a penalty kick. Epitime took the honors himself, and calmly slotted home into the bottom left corner to give the Black Knights the lead.
Up to the task with ten men, Army's defensive effort carried over from the Navy game as the Great Danes struggled to put together chances around the Army box. Despite seven corners from Albany in the final 45 minutes, Army was able to maintain the shutout and pick up a victory from the capital region on Tuesday night.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sam Epitime collected his first goal of the season with his 66th minute penalty.
- Tomas Hut earned his third clean sheet of the season, making two saves.
- Army improves to 6-1-2 across its past nine games.
- This marks the second time this season that the Black Knights have posted back-to-back clean sheets.
- Army has scored on both of its spot kick opportunities this season (Gage Guerra vs. Cleveland State).
Coach's Corner
"A gritty effort from the team. The early red card changed the game and we took it as a great learning moment. Albany is talented and well coached. We knew it would be difficult to hold them but at halftime we challenged the group to do just that. We said make the plays in our defensive box and when you get your chances in their box to make it count. We did that in the 2nd half and were able to get a win." - head coach Brian Plotkin.
Up Next
Army returns home for a pivotal Patriot League matchup against Bucknell on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at Malek Stadium.
Team Stats
Sam Epitime
ARMY Sam Epitime PENALTY KICK GOAL.
65:55
