Brennan DaCosta
Brennan DaCosta

DaCosta’s Last Minute Goal Lifts Bentley to Win at Le Moyne

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior Brennan DaCosta (San Diego, Calif./Westview) scored a dramatic late goal in the 90th minute to break a 1-1 tie and give Bentley University a 2-1 road win against Le Moyne Saturday in a Northeast-10 men's soccer match, breaking a two-match winless run for the Falcons.

With the match all square at one as overtime approached, DaCosta netted his sixth goal of the season to give the Falcons a vital three points from the match. The goal came as junior back Jordan Bridge (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) sent a cross in from the right side of the penalty area that DaCosta redirected in from four yards away to give Bentley a 2-1 lead.

All three goals scored came in the match's final 20 minutes, as the first 70 minutes were scoreless. That was until Bentley freshman Nicholas Italia (Rocky Hill, Conn./Northwest Catholic) put the visitors in front in the 71st minute with his first career goal. After receiving a pass from Justin Cirasola (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside), Italia fired a shot from the right side of the box from 12 yards out that beat Dolphins keeper Matt Silva.

But 10 minutes later, Le Moyne's Casey Murphy headed in a goal from two yards away to equalize in the 81st minute. Zachary MacNabb set the goal up by crossing the ball from the left goal line to the center of the six-yard box, where Murphy was there to meet it.

However, DaCosta's goal with just 56 seconds left before overtime gave Bentley the victory, improving its record to 5-3-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the NE-10 for 11 points. Le Moyne drops to 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference for nine points.

The Falcons will go for their second straight win on Tuesday afternoon when they host No. 13 Southern New Hampshire. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.