Men's soccer outplays NYU, tied for first

As the men’s soccer team pulled away from Fauver Stadium last Friday afternoon, junior Gary Stom felt a rush of excitement flow through his body. This would be the first time Stom would visit New York City. After a long bus ride that took much of Friday afternoon, the team slowly approached the Hudson River. Starting to feel that rush of excitement again, Stom reached into his bag, pulled out a burned CD and tossed it into his CD player. He quickly moved right to track No. 3 – his new favorite song – “New York, New York” by the great Frank Sinatra. As the bus sat in traffic waiting to enter the Lincoln Tunnel, Stom silently started singing, “Start spreading the news / I’m leaving today.” As his excitement built, so did his voice. By the time the bus made it through the dark tunnel, Gary was blaring out the second verse, “I want to be a part of it in old New York / If I can make it there I’ll make it anywhere / It’s up to you New York, New York! New York, New York!”In a highly anticipated showdown of two of the premier teams in the University Athletic Association conference, stakes were high as UR and New York University both opened up conference play with a 1-0 record. The Yellowjackets and Violets fought this one out to the 12th round. However, neither team could deliver the knockout blow, with the game ending in a 0-0 tie through two overtimes on Saturday. This one turned out to be a typical hard-fought, defensive battle.Stom had nothing but great things to say in his return from the trip to the Big Apple. “Being in the city for the first time was just simply amazing,” Stom said. “I now understand why Mr. Sinatra wrote his song. As for the game, we really played hard, but just couldn’t break the tie.”The Yellowjackets outshot NYU 14-11 and held a 7-5 advantage on corner kicks. Defensively, senior Mike Springer continued his strong play in the center of the Yellowjacket defense and freshman Jack Burgasser made seven saves to get his third solo shutout this season. Burgasser was deservedly awarded for his goalkeeping, being named the Player of the Week in men’s soccer by the UAA for his stellar performances against Rochester Institute of Technology and NYU, both of which resulted in shutouts.The Yellowjackets moved up seven points in the Division III poll. They are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation, with a record of 9-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the UAA. UR is tied for first place in the UAA standings at 1-0-1 with Emory and NYU. The Yellowjackets visit four-time UAA champion Carnegie Mellon University on Friday and then fly to Atlanta on Sunday to face Emory University.Rovinsky can be reached at mrovisnky@campustimes.org.