CLEVELAND, OH – The University of Rochester men's soccer team mounted a huge second half rally, scoring three goals to defeat host Case Western Reserve University 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at CWRU's DiSanto Field in a University Athletic Association matchup.
 
Rochester, unbeaten in its last four matches, moves to 8-2-3 overall on the season and is 2-0-1 in the UAA. CWRU falls to 5-4-3 overall and is now 0-2-1 in the conference.
 
UR's goals were scored by Alessio Cristanetti-Walker, Kol Bassuk and Kamal Ibrahim, with Tyler Moran, Milos Bisenic and Johnny Makula logging assists for the Yellowjackets. In goal, Santino Lupica-Tondo made a pair of saves to earn the win.
 
The Spartans capitalized on a Yellowjacket turnover early, scoring a goal on the opening shot of the game. In the ninth minute, UR's defense sent a pass towards the middle of the field that was intercepted by Adam Pluszczyk who settled, took one dribble and fired a shot into the upper 90 on the right side.
 
After CWRU took the next two shots in the contest, UR's first chance of the day came at the 15-minute mark when a long cross from the right corner found captain Nick Swanger in the middle of the field for an open look. Swanger's one-timer chance ended up sailing high of the net.
 
Four minutes later, Case Western Reserve keeper Bradley Winter was tested for the first time on a free kick attempt from Bisenic, with the sophomore's show towards the low right corralled by Bradley for the save.
 
Amir Awais doubled the lead with nine minutes left in the opening half on a shot that found the low left corner of the net. After receiving a long pass up the left side, Awais volleyed the ball up to himself multiple times, before ripping a shot into the corner past UR's Lupica-Tondo in goal.
 
Rochester looked to counter right away, getting a good chance in close off some solid passing, but a point-blank shot from Pasquale Carusone along the crease was saved again by Bradley.
 
With time ticking away in the opening half, Mikey Burke sent a terrific service towards the goal mouth where Ibrahim headed a perfect shot towards the top center of the net. The UR graduate student came away empty handed though, as Bradley made another outstanding leaping save, punching the ball over the net for a corner kick.
 
The opening 45 minutes was fairly even statwise, aside from the goal count, with Rochester trailing just 6-5 in shot attempts while leading 5-3 in corner kicks.
 
Early in the second half, UR's Lupica-Tondo made a key save on Cameron Thayer, mimicking Winter's save from the first half, denying the chance from in close with a leaping punch, also securing the loose ball that went straight up and came down nearly into the net.
 
Lupica-Tondo's saved seemed to flip momentum in Rochester's favor, with most of the remaining time in the game being played with Rochester in possession over in CWRU's end of the field.
 
In the 55th minute, Rochester's first shot of the second half found the back of the net, coming off the foot of Cristanetti-Walker.
 
After some strong pressure in the midfield forced a turnover, Moran found Cristanetti-Walker in space and after dribbling up a few steps, the sophomore rocketed a shot from beyond 30 yards that perfectly found the bottom right corner of the net, cutting into the Case Western Reserve lead.
 
Seven minutes later, the Yellowjackets earned a corner kick and turned that opportunity into a good look from Ashton Prescott from the left wing. Prescott's hard shot after the Bisenic corner sailed wide left of the post.
 
With 13 minutes left on the clock, UR's Makula had a flick header saved by a diving Winter leading to a corner kick.
 
On the ensuing set piece, the Yellowjackets knotted the game at two, with Bisenic setting up Bassuk for the header goal at the near post into the top of the net. The tally was Bassuk's second of the season.
 
As the clocked ticked under four minutes to play, Rochester's Makula made a strong play in the CWRU third, stealing the ball and feeding teammate Kamal Ibrahim for a wide-open look in the box, but Ibrahim's shot slipped wide right of the net.
 
The Spartans nearly netted the game-winner a minute later, but a header from Ashton McNally ricocheted off the crossbar, then down into the post, and lastly into the arms of Lupica-Tondo, keeping the game tied at two.
 
In transition, Ibrahim made up for his missed opportunity earlier, netting the game-winning goal off a rebound in the crease with just 90 seconds left in the game.
 
After Swanger sent a ball in from the left wing, Makula one-timed a volley off Bradley and into the left post. With the ball sitting in front, Ibrahim was the first to pounce on the opportunity, slamming in the rebound for the deciding tally, his fourth of the year, three of which ended as game-winning goals.
 
Rochester's dominant second half ended with the Yellowjackets taking 10 of the 12 shot attempts, leading to a 15-8 advantage over the entire game. UR also finished with an 8-5 lead in corner kicks.
 
UR continues its UAA conference schedule next weekend with two matches on the road, playing at NYU on Friday night before traveling to Brandeis on Sunday afternoon.