Sophomore Jon Vignir Petursson (Selfoss, Iceland) scored on a penalty kick with only 49 seconds remaining to give the No. 25 Seton Hall men's soccer team a d...
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#25 Pirates Edge Albany on Final Minute PK, 2-1
Jon Vignir Petursson tallies the game-winner with 49 seconds left after Sam Bjork got taken down in the box.
The official box score of Men's Soccer vs UAlbany on 8/29/2024
shupirates.com
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Sophomore
Jon Vignir Petursson (Selfoss, Iceland) scored on a penalty kick with only 49 seconds remaining to give the No. 25 Seton Hall men's soccer team a dramatic 2-1 victory over Albany at Owen T. Carroll Field on Thursday evening.
In the final minute, senior
Sam Bjork (Huskvarna, Sweden) was tripped while trying to play the ball directly in front of Albany goalkeeper Parker Kump, which resulted in a penalty shot. Vignir Petursson drilled the ball to the upper right corner of the goal and the Pirates came away with a dramatic, last-minute victory.
The Pirates (2-0-0) out-shot the Great Danes, 18-to-6, and had seven shots on goal, compared to just three for Albany. The Hall set the tempo in the first half, but play was close in the second with the Pirates out-shooting the Great Danes only 6-to-5.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pirates largely dominated the first half, controlling the pace and out-shooting the Great Danes, 12-to-1, in the first 45 minutes. Still, the game was scoreless until Smith broke through for The Hall with under 15 minutes prior to halftime. Bjork found Smith to the left of the goal with a high-arcing pass, and Smith headed the ball past a diving goalkeeper and into the upper right corner of the net. Originally ruled off-sides, the officials declared the goal for the Pirates after video review.
Off a throw-in, Ivar Orri Gissurarson scored the equalizer in the 41st minute on Albany's first shot of the game to send the contest into halftime tied at one goal apiece.
The second half was a significantly closer affair, with both goalkeepers making key saves to keep the game deadlocked. Seton Hall goalkeeper
Soren Jensen (Nyborg, Denmark) stopped tough shots in the 59th and 67th minutes to keep the game even and set up the late heroics by Bjork and Vignir Petursson. In a final surge, Bjork was tripped in the box by an Albany defender just as he collided with Kump. For the second time in the game, video review played a key role as the foul call was upheld. Moments later, Vignir Petursson booted the game-winning goal.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Vignir Petursson and Smith scored for the Pirates. Both were their first respective tallies of the year.
- Jensen made two saves and improves to 2-0 on the young season.
- Freshman Til Kauschke (Hamburg, Germany) had a game-high five shots.
- Seton Hall out-shot Albany, 18-6, which included a 7-to-3 edge in shots on goal.
- The Pirates were called for eight fouls, compared to seven for Albany.
- Albany had six corner kicks, while The Hall had five.
- The Great Danes were called for five off-sides, while Seton Hall had only one.
NEWS & NOTES
- The Pirates are now 5-0-2 in their home openers under head coach Andreas Lindberg and have not lost a home opener since 2016.
- Tonight's match was the first-ever meeting between Seton Hall and Albany.
- It's the fifth straight year that the Pirates are undefeated through their first two games.
- Vignir Petursson scored his first career goal.
- Smith's goal was his first of the year, his third at Seton Hall and the fifth of his career.
- Bjork's assist was his first of the year and his fourth at Seton Hall.
- Seton Hall entered the United Soccer Coaches Poll at No. 25 in the rankings released on Tuesday afternoon. The Pirates have now been nationally ranked at least once in four of the last five seasons.
UP NEXT
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, September 1 when it returns to Owen T. Carroll Field to host local rival Manhattan. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
