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Jones late goal lifts Knights over Ithaca

Posted 9/24/17

Potsdam, NY – Freshman Mack Walton found the lanky form of Jon Jones in front with less than 12 minutes to go, and the senior converted the cross in what proved to be the game-winner as the …

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Jones late goal lifts Knights over Ithaca

Posted

Potsdam, NY – Freshman Mack Walton found the lanky form of Jon Jones in front with less than 12 minutes to go, and the senior converted the cross in what proved to be the game-winner as the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team's 2-1 victory over Ithaca College Saturday afternoon at Hantz Turf Field.

The Golden Knights improved to 5-3-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in the Liberty League, while the Bombers fell to 4-3-1 and 0-1-0. Clarkson will be back in action at Hantz Turf Field on Tuesday night when they host Route 11 rival St. Lawrence University.

Both teams had some average chances in the opening minutes, but it was Ithaca who struck first on a surprising play. Following a goal kick, the Bombers got control and sent a seemingly harmless pass back into the Clarkson defensive end. The bounding ball eluded both the Clarkson defense and goalkeeper Ian Roeloffs, but found the head of Nate Mansfield, who hit just enough of the ball for it to hop into the back of the net at the 15:10 mark of the first half.

It appeared as if Ithaca would head into the half with a 1-0 lead, but Clarkson struck back with less than two minutes to go. After possession switched feet a few times, a Clarkson midfielder got the ball out of the center and over to Diego Lezama on a wing. The senior collected the space he still had and sent a cross from the wing that took a hop past the Ithaca defense and a few Clarkson forwards, but the pass found the foot of Erick Naula, who hit a hard shot from about 12 yards out into the upper corner over the outstretched right hand of Ithaca keeper Dan Hinckley.

With the temperature rising, neither team wanted to head to overtime, but the goalies were keeping things tight in the second half. Both Drew Lewis and Kevin Calnan had shots from in close that Hinckley denied, and Ithaca's Zach Lichtman took a shot that just cleared the crossbar with about 21 minutes to go. With a little under 19 minutes to go, Jon Jones almost converted but his shot from in close hit the crossbar and despite a rebound to Aidan Subra, Hinckley was in position for another stop.

It wasn't until late in the half that Clarkson tallied what proved to be the game-winner. Mack Walton was called upon for a direct kick from about 30 yards out and served the ball perfectly into the box, and the pass found the head of Jon Jones, who pushed it over Hinckley into the opposite corner at 78:43.

Clarkson had a modest edge in shots (10-8) and corner kick chances (6-5). Hinckley made three saves for the Bombers and Ian Roeloffs denied one shot for Clarkson.