NEWTON, MA--  The Lasell College men's soccer program hosted the inaugural Lasell College Kick Off Classic to open up the 2010 season Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.  The opening game of the day was a thrilling and action packed overtime showdown between Lasell College and New York University Polytechnic Institute, resulting in a 3-2 triumph for the NYU Blue Jays in the final minute of the extra session.

Adrian Hurtado (Deer Park, NY) scored the game-winner with just 45 seconds left in overtime.  Omar Guerrero (Austin, TX) provided the assist as the Blue Jays captured their second straight victory.

The Blue Jays opened strong with a 1-0 lead just 36 seconds into the contest, a lead they would hold through halftime.  Marcelo Escudero (Maywood, NJ) connected on the shot after dribbling in from the left wing on the box and drilling a long shot into the upper right corner of the Lasers' net. 

Lasell was not without chances in the first half as they dominated in corner kicks opportunities (5-0) and held the advantage in shots (6-3), though they remained scoreless in the period. Sophomore midfielder Evan Gaccione (Westerly, RI) attacked with a long distance shot just two minutes after Escuadero's goal and just barely missed NYU-Poly's net as it careened off the crossbar.  Sean Fisher (Griswold, CT) followed shortly thereafter with another close call as he took a header off a perfectly placed corner.  Unfortunately for Lasell, the shot was swept over the top of the net with a great save by Blue Jay goalkeeper Robert Petri (St. Louis, MO).  In the 24^th minute, freshman midfielder Marcus Lopez (Barrigada, Guam) placed a header at the left edge of the Blue Jays net but Petri deflected the shot again for his third save of the game. The Blue Jays held control of the scoreboard, 1-0, at the break.

After a scoreless 26 minutes in the second half, Lasell tied the contest at 71:49 when Nery Guerra (Guatamala) tapped a short pass through a crowd of defenders to Kyle Cronin (Weymouth, MA) who connected at close range for Lasell's first goal of the season.

Just two minutes later, the Blue Jays took back control of the lead when Escudero dished a pass to Mamadou Dianko (Dakar, Senegal) in a scrum in front of the Lasers net.  The resulting shot scored giving NYU Polytech a 2-1 lead with 16:12 remaining in the contest.

At 83:38, the Lasers were awarded a penalty kick off a Blue Jay foul. Sophomore midfielder Mike Skelton (Conway, NH) produced the assist as Guerra used his head to tap in the second game-tying goal, forcing overtime.  Nine minutes and 15 seconds passed in the extra session before the game-ending goal was scored by Hurtado.

The game was a physical one with a combined 37 fouls and seven yellow cards issued between the two teams.  Lasell held the advantage in shots (15-11) and corner kicks (7-1) through the contest.  Petri was awarded the win in the Blue Jays net, making eight saves in the contest.  Lasell's net-minder Daniel McManus (County Fermanagh, Ireland) stopped five shots on goal in the defeat.

Both teams return to action on Sunday, September 5^th, during the second day of the Kick Off Classic competition.  NYU Polytechnic will face Green Mountain College at 12:00 p.m. while the Lasers will challenge Farmingdale State University of New York in the 2:30 p.m. game.