NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA- Sophomore midfielder Kyle Lopes (Somerset, MA/Somerset HS/Bristol CC) fired in a free kick from outside the penalty area with 1:37 remaining in the first sudden-death overtime period to give the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over visiting Lasell College, on Tuesday.
Lopes was awarded the free kick to end the oscillating contest after junior forward Giuliano Basile (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow HS) was fouled by the visitors.
Lopes had earlier scored giving the Corsairs a 1-0 advantage in the 18th minute when he converted a pass from junior midfielder Jason Couto (Somerset, MA/Somerset HS/Bristol CC) in front of the net. The Lasers balanced the score when senior defender Paul Meucci (Vernon, CT) nailed a direct kick from just outside the penalty box with only two seconds remaining before halftime.
Senior goalkeeper Julian Dutton (Madison, Conn.) recorded nine saves for Lasell during the 98 minute contest. Dutton is currently leading the conference in saves per game, averaging 7.0 per contest, and is second in the conference in save percentage at .848.
This is the second time this season that the Lasers have faced an overtime battle. Lasell now stands with a 4-2-1 record overall and will return to GNAC competition on Saturday at Albertus Magnus College.