Late Corner Kick Lifts Men’s Soccer to Home Opener Victory

By Carter Schum | September 1, 2025

Graduate Student William Bruce (#2). Bruce scored his first goal for the Great Danes on Thursday.   

Photo Credit: Brent Warzocha / UAlbany Athletics

In their 2025 season home opener on Thursday (8/28), the University at Albany Men’s Soccer team defeated the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 1-0. 

The game swung in favor of the Great Danes early on, as a Blue Devil turnover in the box was nearly put into the back of the net; however Blue Devil goalkeeper Christian Torres made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. 

The Great Danes would dominate the early minutes, as they controlled possession of the ball and recorded 4 shots within the first 10 minutes of the game but could not get past Torres. 

Torres single handedly kept the Blue Devils even in the game when he made a diving save on a header from UAlbany midfielder Ivar Gissurarson that was heading for the back of the net. The Great Danes would attempt to put in the rebound, however Torres once again stood tall and kept the game even at 0-0. 

Gissuarson would once again nearly score when he fired a shot with his right foot from 15 yards out, but it would deflect off of the post and away from the net, for the Great Danes 11th shot in under 30 minutes. 

CCSU would win their first corner kick in the 23rd minute, but this was cleared away by the UAlbany defensive line. 

The Great Danes would continue to run circles around the Blue Devils, as throughout the first half they would tally 18 total shots, with 7 of them coming on target.  

Despite the overwhelming advantage in the shot category they would be unable to find the back of the net in the first stanza, leaving the score 0-0. 

Within the first minute of the second half, UAlbany would once again call Torres into action as 

Andre Navas would get on a partial breakaway off of a long pass from rightback Luca Grilla. However, a Blue Devil defender would catch up just before he reached the net. 

The Great Danes would continue to outclass CCSU throughout the second half as they would dominate possession and put pressure on the Blue Devil defense but they would be unable to find the net as the clock struck the 60 minute mark.  

CCSU would attempt to slow the game down significantly by committing a multitude of fouls and being in no rush to take their set pieces, seemingly content to settle for a 0-0 draw.

The Great Danes would win a free kick just outside of the box at the 72:07 mark, however Navas would hit the crossbar with UAlbany’s 22nd shot of the night. 

UAlbany would finally find the back of the net at 76:22, when Defender William Bruce would use his head to beat Torres off of a corner kick from Navas to finally make the score 1-0 after more than 70 minutes of domination.

The Great Danes would continue to keep up the pressure on the Blue Devils, however in similar fashion to the first half, many scoring chances would be thwarted by the CCSU defense. 

As the time winded down, UAlbany would give the Blue Devils a taste of their own medicine, as they would take to keeping the ball in the corner and keeping the ball as far away from their net as possible. 

This strategy would pay off, as CCSU would have no further chances and the Great Danes would close out the 1-0 victory. 

The Great Danes next home game is scheduled for September 5th, when they will take on the Rhode Island Rams at Casey Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 PM.