CHAMPS! MEN’S SOCCER UPSETS NO. 8 DOWLING, 1-0, FOR FIRST-EVER EAST COAST CONFERENCE TITLE

Box Score vs. Dowling - November 8, 2008 

BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. (Nov. 8, 2008) - Senior midfielder William Bell (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored the eventual game-winning marker for the second-seeded Molloy College men's soccer team in the sixth minute on Saturday to push the Lions to their first-ever East Coast Conference Championship with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded and No. 8 Dowling at Golden Lions Field in Brookhaven, N.Y.

This marks the second title for Molloy (12-5-2) in the 2008 calendar year, as the Lions' women's basketball team captured their first-ever ECC crown over top-seeded New Haven last February. 

On the tally, senior midfielder Michael Topel (Levittown, N.Y.) sent a pass to junior forward John-Paul Hughes (Manchester, England) on the right flank at the top of the box. Hughes then sent a square ball to Bell, who launched a 25-yard shot over the head of Dowling senior goalkeeper Nemanja Veljovic (Belgrade, Serbia) into the top-left corner of the goal for his seventh marker of the campaign. 

Sophomore forward Emmanuel Gamez (Freeport, N.Y.) and sophomore midfielder Jose Batista (Forest Hills, N.Y.) took three shots apiece for Molloy, which owned a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Bell and Hughes posted one shot each. Senior goalkeeper Ettore Morelli (North Bellmore, N.Y.), the 2008 ECC Goalkeeper of the Year, made a game-high three saves. 

For the Golden Lions (16-3), junior midfielder Moussa Keita (Guinea, West Africa) attempted three shots. Veljovic turned aside two shots in the Dowling cage. 

Second-year head coach Danny Longo's Molloy squad now awaits word on a potential berth into the 32-team NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships. The Lions are hopeful of earning one of the East Region's six berths to the tourney, as the field is expected to be announced Monday.