Box Score  | Text Message Alerts | Season Preview Video

BRISTOL, R.I. - Juniors Nathaniel Gunderson and Esmir Hadzic each tallied second half goals to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's soccer team to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over UMass Boston, this afternoon in game two of the Squad Locker Classic. With the win, the Engineers improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Beacons drop to 0-1.

UMass Boston was first to tally a mark on the board. In the 25th minute, Edmilson Barros (Praia, Cape Verde) fired a shot from close range in the left side of the box.
 
RPI's Rob Dewald (Arlington, VA) dove to his left to get two hands on the ball and punch it away. However, Elton Teixeira (Boston, MA) found himself in the right place at the right time, finding the loose ball and placing a shot just inside the right corner for the score.
 
In the closing minutes of the first half, RPI had a pair of strong chances to tie the game at one apiece. Hadzic (Burlington, VT) put up two shots on net over the final six minutes of the period to try and close the deficit. However, UMass-Boston's Alfonso Rosales  (Revere, MA) stopped both tried for the Beacons to preserve the lead going into halftime.
 
In the early part of the second half, RPI began to control the ball longer and put more offensive pressure on the Beacons, outshooting the Engineers 4-0 over the first 20 minutes. Yet the Beacon defense was able to contest the shots, helping keep the attempts off target.
 
The Engineers were able to break through in the 70th minute, when Matt Koziol (Poughkeepsie, NY) chipped a pass into the box. Rosales attempted to grab the ball out of the air, but could not hold on to it, allowing Gunderson (Olympia, WA) to knock in the loose ball for the game-tying goal.
 
Hadzic came through seven minutes later with the go-ahead goal for RPI. Matt Carberry (Auburn, NY) served up a corner kick that found Hadzic's head. He was able to poke it into the right corner to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead. RPI was able to hold off a late rally by UMass-Boston to come away with the comeback victory.
 
Dewald needed four saves to earn the win, while Rosales made two stops in the loss.
 
Roger Williams and RPI will play in the Squad Locker Classic Championship Game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., while UMass-Boston and Thomas square off in the Consolation Game at 11:00 a.m.