VITAL'S THIRD INTERCEPTION OF THE DAY SEALS THE WIN FOR PACE
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- Freshman defensive back Andy Vital (Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham) (Hamilton, NJ/Hamilton) recorded his third interception of the day that sealed Pace's thrilling 23-20 overtime win over the Skyhawks of Stonehill College. The Setters even their record at 1-1, while the Skyhawks fall to 1-1 on the season.
Pace got the board first with a 35-yard field goal from Ali Mourtada (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) in the first quarter. Stonehill would answer on the ensuing kickoff with an 88-yard kick return by Stephan Neville to make it 7-3 at the end of the first. Pace would slice the Stonehil lead to one-point early in the second quarter on a Mourtada 44-yard field goal as the Skyhawks would take a 7-6 at the break.
Stonehill would their lead on their first possession of the second half on a 23-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-6. Pace would answer later in the third quarter as Jordan Raynor (Browns Mills, N.J./Pemberton) (Browns Mills, NJ/Pemberton) connected with Anthony Upshaw (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) on a 53-yard scoring strike. Raynor would hit Cameron Davis (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL/Providence) (Ponte Verde Beach, FL/Providence) for the two-point conversion to put the Setters in the lead at 14-10. The Skyhawks converted a field goal to slice the Setter lead to 14-13 after three quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, Eshawn Armstrong (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) (Middletown, NY/Middletown) extended the Setter lead with a one-yard touchdown but Pace would miss the extra point to lead 20-13. Stonehill would score on a Logan Meyer one-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 20 with 2:41 left in the game to force overtime.
In the first overtime, the Setters would drive to the Stonehill one-yard line before settling for a 27-yard Mourtada field goal, his third of the day, to put Pace up 23-20. On Stonehill's first play from scrimmage, Vital would intercept Meyer's pass in the end zone to seal the thrilling victory for the Setters.
For the game, Raynor was 22-for-41 for 275 and one touchdown, while Davis finished with six catches for 101 yards. Armstrong had a productive day on the ground with 70 yards and one touchdown. On the defensive side, David Lopez (Ozone Park, NY/Christ the King) led the defense with 15 tackles.
The Setters return to action next Saturday, September 17 as Pace travels to North Andover, MA for a conference showdown with Merrimack College at 1 pm.
