It was a busy Saturday for the NYU soccer teams who traveled to Cleveland, Ohio to take on Case Western Reserve University in the first University Athletic Association games of the season. The morning began with the NYU women battling the Spartans to a 0-0 draw.

Although the game ended without a goal, both teams had plenty of chances throughout the game, starting with some openings for Case Western coming early. Senior goalkeeper Cassie Steinberg made both her saves in the first half and was able to hold off an at-times dominant Spartans team. The second half of the game was completely different as NYU dominated play and recorded a large majority of the scoring chances. However, the Violets were unable to finish off their chances, failing to net a goal in regulation. In the overtime period both teams had their chances, but the goalkeepers were too strong. The 0-0 final score saw Steinberg record her 34th career clean sheet, a school record.

Other leaders for the Violets included freshman forward Isabelle Turner and junior Charlotte Herbertz, who combined for five shots including two close chances at the end of the overtime period. NYU outshot Case Western 13-7 and also earned 10 more corner kicks than the Spartans.

The draw in their first UAA match of the season moves the Violets to 6-1-2 for the season.

Later on Saturday afternoon, the NYU men — hoping to start league play better than they left off in their early season tries — battled with Case Western for 90 minutes eventually overcoming a slow start and taking the game in a 2-1 victory.

The Violets struggled to possess the ball and attack in the first half, as they were outshot 9-0. Senior goalkeeper Lucas Doucette made some big saves at the end of the half and a diving fingertip save to begin the second half that kept the game scoreless. Doucette was pleased with the improvement the team showed as the game went on.

“We started off slow in the first half but really settled into the game and had some good chances in the second half,” Doucette said. “It was clutch having two freshmen score for us. Also, probably the first late game winning goal in the UAA since I’ve been here, which is awesome.”

Then, in the 63rd minute, sophomore Ricardo Mitrano sent in a beautiful corner kick, which was put away by a header from freshman Drew Enyedi. The Spartans equalized shortly after an NYU defensive mistake. The teams battled for another 20 minutes without finding the decisive goal until freshman forward Owen Smith finished off a loose ball in the box to give the Violets a 2-1 lead. NYU held on for the final three minutes of play and won their first game of the UAA season despite being outshot 17-7. The win was the Violets’ fourth, moving them to 4-3-2 on the season.

Junior forward Nicolas Notaro was happy to leave Cleveland with a win.

“It’s a great feeling seeing our hard work pay off and having some of our younger lads get their names on the scoresheet,” Notaro said. “It’s an important win but there’s still room for improvement.”

The NYU women are back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 4 playing hosts to Brooklyn College at 7:30 p.m. Both teams will resume UAA play on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Gaelic Park vs. Carnegie Mellon University with the women playing at 11 a.m. and the men to follow at 1:30 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Oct. 3 print edition. Email Ben Goodkin at [email protected].