New York, NY - The John Jay men's soccer opened its City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) slate on Wednesday afternoon with the Bloodhounds' annual meeting with the Hunter College Hawks.
After mounting a two-goal advantage in the opening 40 minutes, the Bloodhounds managed to hold strong for a key conference point with a 2-2 draw.
The John Jay attack peppered Hunter keeper Matthew Heimowitz from inside the box with 12 shots in the opening frame, five of them directed on net.
Before a goal was scored, John Jay took a leg up in the 26th as Hunter's Alpha Barry was shown his second yellow in less than eight minutes time. The Bloodhounds played the remainder with a man advantage.
Their breakthrough started at the back after John Jay keeper Tyler Solis made his fourth save to that point. Nicolas Dibetta served a ball up to the Hawk doorsteps with Kevin Luciano tipping it in for a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.
The goal is Luciano's fourth of the season.
Less than ten minutes later, the Bloodhounds struck again. Brayan Alvarez took possession on the right flank and crossed ball to the opposite side of the box where Kevin Cantos found twine from the left wing to double the visitors' advantage.
Cantos' goal and Alvarez's assist are each their first of the campaign.
The Bloodhounds' two-goal edge held until just before the final twenty minutes. Hunter's leading scorer, Bradley Espejo, took advantage of a deflected shot in the box for a one-on-one chance against Soli. Espejo slotted away his fourth of the season to cut the John Jay lead in half.
The John Jay offense was unrelenting despite Hunter's efforts, delivering a season-high 22 shots and 11 shots on goal.
As the Bloodhounds continued to try and crack Heimowitz in the final 45 minutes, the Hawks found an answer at the other end. Hunter's Musa Feseru had another one-on-one chance on Solis in the 86th minute, slipping in to the top of the box. His shot snuck in the right side of the net for his first of the season.
DiBetta had an opportunity to retake the lead less than 30 seconds letter, ripping a shot just over the crossbar.
John Jay held for a 2-2 draw in consecutive meetings with the Hawks and clinched a key point in the CUNYAC standings to open the conference schedule.
NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds host their first CUNYAC match of the season on Saturday, Sept. 30 against Baruch. Kickoff from the campus of Queens College is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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