Long Island Wins Eighth Game of Season; Ayoub Leads Blackbirds to 1-0 victory over St. Francis (NY)

(boxscore)

11/6/04 -- Junior forward Mustapha Ayoub (Toronto, Canada) scored in the 63rd minute to lift Long Island to a 1-0 victory over St. Francis (NY) in Northeast Conference men’s soccer action at LIU Field.

Ayoub controlled the ball after it deflected off a defender and beat junior goalkeeper Rosario Candela for his team-high sixth goal of the season.

The Terriers had their best scoring opportunity in the first half when Alessandro Aquista received the ball alone at the top of the box. Appearing to be one-on-one with Ryzard Gorski (Aberdeenshire, Scotland), Aquisto’s shot in the 21th minute was cleared by defender Andrew Zarick.

The Blackbirds’ best chance of the half came just a minute later. Forward Ricardo Oradain (Brooklyn, N.Y.) fired a line-drive free kick from 30 yards out, forcing Candela to punch the ball up and over the net.

Senior netminder Gorski registered three saves the Blackbird defensive unit each accounted for three saves. Candela recorded seven stops for the Terriers.

The Blackbirds advance to the NEC Tournament for the fourth straight season next weekend. LIU will be seeded either second or third, depending on the outcome of Sunday’s game between Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis (PA).

With the win, the Blackbirds improve to 8-6-3, 6-2-1 in league play. The Terriers fall to 8-9-1, 5-4.