HOUGHTON, NY—Alfred State College made a valiant run in the second half of tonight's men's soccer matchup, scoring two goals in the second half, but a late save by Jacob Dunnett (Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Kennebecasis) staved off the Pioneers upset aspirations, preserving a 3-2 win for Houghton College.
 
The win bolsters Houghton's record to 6-5-2 while Alfred State falls to 3-10-1.
 
The first half belonged entirely to the Highlanders, as they outshot the Pioneers 11-0 and played the majority of the half in the Alfred State defensive third.
 
Ben Lawrence (Marlborough, CT, RHAM High School) put Houghton on the board just under seven minutes into the game when he beat two defenders around the right side and scored an unassisted far post goal.
 
Sixteen minutest later Lawrence struck again, this time on a set play just outside the box.  Matt Munkittrick (Ottawa, Ontario, Canterbury) played a ball just wide of the wall to Lawrence, who nailed a shot from the corner of the box into the far post side netting to put Houghton up by two.
 
Andrew Bussey (Leicester, England, Rosslyn Academy) capped the scoring for the Highlanders less than three minutes later when Tyler Ashley (Landisville, PA, Hempfield) crossed a ball into the box, where Bussey took a touch to beat a defender then slid the ball past the keeper.
 
Alfred State, however, refused to quit.
 
The Pioneers continued to press, catching a break nearly twenty minutes into the second half.  After a defensive miscue gave Alfred State a corner, Mike Leonardo drive a ball into the box where Tyler Landries drove a header into the back of the net, cutting the lead to 3-1 on only the second shot of the night for the Pioneers.
 
In the 80^th minute Houghton had an opportunity to ice the game when they were awarded a penalty kick following an Alfred State foul in the box.  But Kenneth Allport made a tremendous save on Lawrence's shot to the left post, preserving hope for the Pioneers.
 
A minute and 12 seconds later, Alfred State's Mitchell Porter cut the lead to one after he buried a through ball from teammate Kyle Jones.
 
With only three minutes remaining in the game Alfred State's Tory Jinks broke free from the last line of Highlander defenders and descended on the goal.  Dunnett came off his line quickly and Jinks hit a shot to the near post.  Dunnett slid hard, deflecting the shot away from the goal and cleared.
 
While the Highlanders again outshot the Pioneers 12-5 in the second half, the Pioneers capitalized on the few opportunities they had. 
 
"Our communication in the back was not what it needed to be in the second half," commented Houghton coach Matthew Webb.  "We created a lot of offensive opportunities, but our defensive communication will need to improve before we play again."
 
The Highlanders next travel to Elmira to take on the Soaring Eagles at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17.