BOCA RATON, Fla. - A flurry of second half goals broke a scoreless tie and catapulted Lynn University's men's soccer team to a 3-1 win over Barry on Thursday afternoon. The victory secures the No. 3 seed and a first round home match in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. Paulo Vaz returned from a two-game red card suspension to add to his league leading goal and point totals with a goal and assist while Alessandro Salvatore stopped six shots. Lynn improves to 14-3 overall and 5-3 in the SSC.
With the threat of dropping not only in the SSC standings but NCAA Division II South Region rankings looming, the Fighting Knights came into the match hungry. Barry (11-5-1, 5-3 SSC), though, was also riding high as it was in the midst of a seven-game winning-streak.
The two teams played a scoreless first half with each getting opportunities to score. Kyle Conrad had a header stopped from the left post while Salvatore made a pair of saves within the 18-yard box.
Conrad broke free minutes into the second period to put LU ahead 1-0. Collecting a loose ball in the BU midfield, Matt Prickett squared a pass towards the right sideline for Luke Magill. The sophomore defender surveyed the field and lifted a cross to the left post where Conrad jumped over his defender and headed a ball inside the right post. It was his 12th goal of the season but first in four games.
Less than 30 seconds later the Blue & White were on the attack again. Vaz zigzagged around the Buccaneers defense and rifled a shot that deflected off the back of a Barry defender. Scott McCubbin ran on to the free ball and let loose a laser of a shot that ricocheted off the left post into the net, giving Lynn a 2-0 advantage.
Firmly in control, the Knights padded their lead in the 67th minute. Luke Magill launched a 35-yard shot from the right wing which BU keeper Johnny Rodrigues couldn't handle. Vaz tipped the ball around Rodrigues but was tripped up attempting to take the open shot and awarded a penalty kick. The sophomore forward would not be denied, firing the shot past Rodrigues for the goal.
A scary moment occurred with 22 minutes remaining in the game when Ryan Alexander and Salvatore collided at the top of the box. Salvatore came off his line to grab a ball in the air but Alexander kept pursing and was injured, having to be carted off the field. Play resumed after a 21 minute delay.
Barry played with renewed vigor following the stoppage but Salvatore turned two shots away, both coming from within the 18-yard box. He finished with six saves while Rodrigues stopped five shots.
The Bucs finally found the back of the net with two seconds remaining when Mark Kilpatrick beat the defense off a through ball from Kendall Sealy and fired a shot inside the left post.
Lynn outshot Barry 16-14 but BU had the 9-4 corner kick advantage.
The Fighting Knights will return to action on Tuesday, November 3, when they host the first round of the SSC Tournament. Lynn's opponent has not been determined yet. Fans will be able to follow the action live by logging on to www.lynn.edu/athletics and selecting the "live audio" and "live stats" links. Free live video streaming will also be available through the live audio section.
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