HOBOKEN, N.J. – The No. 21 Stevens Institute of Technology men's soccer team went toe-to-toe with No. 6 Denison in the 2025 season opener Friday night from the DeBaun Athletic Complex, falling 1-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 2024 season in which both sides allowed fewer than 0.70 goals per contest, both back lines flexed their collective muscle early on, as the two sides combined for just three shots through the opening half hour.
One of Stevens' strongest scoring opportunities of the night came from the right foot of Ben Goldberg in the 15th minute. Standing just outside the top left corner of the 18 yard box, the senior delivered a ball that sailed mere inches wide of the right post, just a step in front of a late charge from first-year Lucas Mendes.
The Big Red had six corner kicks in the first half, but the Ducks yielded just two shot attempts from those opportunities.
The battle between the back lines continued well into the second half, until the match turned in the 75th minute. Denison's Julian Bozzolo found space in the box and put a left-footed attempt back across the box just past a diving attempt by Stevens' keeper Sebastian Montoulieu.
Stevens pushed for an equalizer in the closing stretch, but aside from a Ryan O'Byrne attempt in the 78th minute, could not muster a shot attempt after Bozzolo's goal.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore Emerson Kekesi, who did not start or play more than 35 minutes in a match all last season, played the full 90.
- Martin Fields, Thomas Smith, and Brian Babovic joined Kekesi as the Ducks' iron men Friday night, with Ethan Hagen playing into the 89th minute before being subbed out.
- Mendes logged 63 minutes in his Ducks' debut.
UP NEXT
The Ducks' season-opening five-match homestand continues Monday afternoon with a Labor Day Matinee against in-state foe William Paterson at 1 p.m.
#AllRise
