NEWARK, N.J. - The La Salle University men's soccer team erased a two-goal deficit with a pair of second-half goals, only to see NJIT score the game-winner in the 77th minute of a 3-2 road loss on Tuesday night. Freshman Yuval Nimrodi and sophomore America Pereira each scored for the Explorers (3-2-1), who will open Atlantic 10 play on Saturday evening against Saint Joseph's.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• NJIT came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, scoring twice within the first 2:08 of the contest.
• Alvaro Heredia and Sergio Martinez Cubel found the back of the net to give the home team an early 2-0 lead.
• The Highlanders kept the pressure on La Salle for much of the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Explorers by a 15-3 margin.
• La Salle slowly started to turn the tides after intermission, and got on the board in the 61st minute when Nimrodi scored his second goal of the year.
• Minutes later, a NJIT player was issued a red card and put the Highlanders down a man for the remainder of the match.
• The Explorers capitalized in the 75th minute when Pereira headed home a cross by senior Drew Blackwell to tie the score at 2-2.
• NJIT responded quickly and retook the lead on a tally by Hugo Tavares. La Salle had momentum over the closing minutes but could not find the equalizer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Explorers outshot NJIT in the second half, 8-6, and earned five corner kicks over the final 45 minutes of the match.
• Nimrodi led La Salle with three shots on the night, while Blackwell and Daniel Smith each had two.
• A trio of Highlanders tied for match-high honors with four shots, as NJIT held a 21-11 edge in shots for the match.