LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles men's soccer team picked up a point in conference play with a hard-fought scoreless draw against the Siena Saints Wednesday afternoon at Siena Turf Field. Steve Casey, who ranks in the top five in the NCAA for saves and saves per game, made nine more saves in his second consecutive shutout. The redshirt-junior goalkeeper now has 30 saves in his last three starts and takes a shutout streak of 201:11 into Saturday's match at Niagara Field against the Rider Broncs.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Niagara 0, Siena 0 (2OT)
• Niagara Goals: n/a
• Niagara Assists: n/a
• In Goal: Steve Casey (1-5-2) – 0 GA, 9 SV, SO
• Records: Niagara – 2-8-2 (1-2-1 MAAC); Siena – 2-4-6 (0-1-3 MAAC)
• Location: Siena Turf Field – Loudonville, NY
• Attendance: 117

 
Game Recap

• Siena's attack came out strong against the Purple Eagles on Wednesday, totaling seven shots in the first 20 minutes. Steve Casey started the game with three saves in that opening stretch.
• Niagara failed to get a shot on goal in the first half, with Mackenzie Roach, Bautista Pedezert, Josh Tufino, and Sergio Lujan taking the team's four shots.
• The Purple Eagles were held at bay on two early corner kicks in the second half, and Saints responded with three shots of their own, including a save against Siena's Marco Kloster.
• Danilo Pekovic got Niagara's first shot on goal in the 68th minute but had his shot turned away by Siena goalkeeper Aleksa Radosavljevic.
• Niagara's best chance came in close right at the 85-minute mark as Sergio Lujan and Luca Pacheco had two chances on the Siena goal but Radosavljevic was up to the task, turning both away.
• Casey made four saves in overtime to deny the Saints a home win.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach Bill Boyle: "We started slow in the first half, but our bench provided life as the game went on and we had our opportunities to win the match. I'm proud of this group for defending as a unit, and Steve made many huge saves. 200 minutes of not allowing a goal is a huge step for our group. Now we just have to take care of our chances at the offensive end."

 
Inside the Numbers

• Steve Casey extended his shutout streak to 201:11 with his second-straight shutout in goal for the Purple Eagles.
• Casey's shutout was the ninth of his career, tying him with Guillermo Rodriguez for third all-time at Niagara.
• Casey, who entered Wednesday's match ranked second in the NCAA in saves per game, improved his season average to 6.38 saves per game. He has 51 saves and a .739 save percentage in eight appearances this year.
• Sergio Lujan, Luca Pacheco, and Danilo Pekovic led the Niagara offense with two shots and one shot on goal each.
• In the field, Pacheco, Borna Juracic, Matthew Krucko-Moeller, and Hector Solorio Villalpando all played the full 110 minutes in the draw.

 
Up Next

• The Purple Eagles are back at Niagara Field for their next two home games, starting Saturday with a 12 p.m. home match against the Rider Broncs.

 
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