Perlee's Late Goals Lift Army Past Bryant, 2-1

Tuesday, September 20

Smithfield, R.I.

4:00 PM

Army West Point

3-5-0

Bryant

0-4-1

Army

BRYANT

Perlee's Late Goals Lift Army Past Bryant, 2-1

September 20, 2011 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 20, 2011

Box Score

Army-Bryant Box Score

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Freshman Devin Perlee scored twice in span of 8 minutes, 17 seconds late in the second half to propel the Army men's soccer team to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bryant in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium.

Bryant (0-4-1) led 1-0 at halftime, and it appeared as though the Bulldogs were on their way to victory. But Perlee had other ideas, tallying a pair of goals in the final 12 minutes of regulation to help Army (3-5-0) snap its four-game losing skid.

Perlee netted the equalizer in the 79th minute when he headed a cross from fellow freshman Kyle Golonski past Bryant goalkeeper George Spanos and into the upper right-hand corner. Golonski played a beautiful ball from the left side to the back post, and Perlee got himself into position to flick the ball into the net.

Less than nine minutes later, Perlee took a feed from junior Trent Brown near the top of the box, spun around and ripped a hard shot through traffic and into the lower left-hand corner of the cage.

"I'm very proud of Devin," said Army head coach Russell Payne. "We issued him a challenge at halftime, and he stepped up to that challenge in the second half. He came out after halftime and got it done for us. I am extremely pleased with his performance in the second half."

Army freshman goalkeeper John Marinelli (3-5-0) backstopped the Black Knights' victory, making a career-high six saves in the match.

After a back and forth first half, Bryant got on the scoreboard in the 40th minute when Ryan Stone headed the ball past Marinelli. Nicholas Parisi was credited with an assist on the play as he lofted a direct kick into the penalty area. Stone then went up and flicked the ball into the upper 90 for his first goal of the season.

The first half featured plenty of scoring opportunities for both sides as Bryant fired eight shots and Army registered seven. Junior Michael Kim paced the Black Knights' attack in the opening stanza with four shots.

Bryant finished with a 15-13 advantage in shots. The Bulldogs also enjoyed a 7-5 edge in corner kicks. Kim finished with a game-high five shots to pace the Black Knights. Jimmy Lineberger fired a team-best four shots for Bryant. Spanos (0-4-1) made six stops in the loss for the Bulldogs.

"It feels great to be able to go on the road, dig deep and find a way to secure a victory," added Payne. "Confidence is everything, and we finished today's game on a high note. Hopefully some of that will carry into our next match. All I can ask is that we convert our chances and find a way to win each game. Today we converted two of those opportunities and we're coming back to West Point with a win."

Army will return to the friendly confines of West Point's Clinton Field on Saturday, Sept. 24, when the Black Knights host Holy Cross in their Patriot League opener. Kickoff for the conference clash is slated for 7 p.m. The match will be video streamed live on the internet by ITT Knight Vision via Army's official web site (www.goARMYsports.com).

Match Notes: Army improves to 1-2-0 all-time versus Bryant... the Black Knights improve to 2-0-0 on the road this season ... Devin Perlee's first goal snapped Army's goal-scoring drought at 329 minutes, 13 seconds ... the Black Knights had not scored since Trent Brown tallied in the first half of the Central Connecticut State contest ... Perlee's goals were the first two of his career ... Golonski's assist was the first of his career ... Brown's helper was the first of his career ... Alex Pfister made his first appearance of the season.