Of the 20 members of Keuka College's men's soccer team, not one of the players on the 2011 squad is a senior.

While the Storm might be low on seniors, it is not lacking in experienced playmakers, and during Friday night's season-opener at home against the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, a trio of juniors stepped up to give the Storm a huge home win to kickoff the 2011 campaign.

Forward John Mastrella (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) atoned for an earlier penalty kick miss by collecting an errant goalie clear, and buried a shot inside the near post for a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over the Panthers at Keuka's Jephson Community Athletic Complex.

Nate Smith (Rochester, NY/Hilton) staked the Storm (1-0) to a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute and Derek Condon (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) made seven saves in his first start at Keuka as the Storm overcame a goal in the 83rd minute that allowed Pitt-Bradford (0-1) to send the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Condon made a big save to deny a Panther scoring opportunity, and less than halfway through the first 10-minute overtime period, Mastrella sent the Keuka faithful home happy with his fourth game-winning goal in the last two seasons.

Pitt-Bradford goalie Adam Forster tried clearing the ball out of his zone, but Mastrella stuck his foot out and emerged with the loose ball. He quickly turned and pushed in the winner, setting off a jubilant celebration along the Storm sidelines.

"Tonight's game was all about heart," said Mastrella, one of three returning starters who earned All-NEAC honors in 2010.

"This was a huge win, especially after I missed the penalty kick. But my teammates picked me up and they kept telling me to not hang my head, that I would have another chance. So when the loose ball came to me, I kept focused on scoring and we were able to win. This momentum will definitely carry over."

Keuka, which has never finished below .500 in head coach Matt Tantalo's six seasons on the sidelines, struck first on Smith's goal, which occurred after a nifty feed from sophomore Mel Rogers (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo). Rogers controlled the ball at midfield, beat his defender and slotted a ball to Smith, who pushed a shot towards the near post for a 1-0 lead.

The teams traded scoring opportunities, and each goalie made a nice save to deny a goal. Particularly impressive was Condon, who made three saves during a two minute span midway through the second half. On one occasion, Alexander Wolfe fired an 18-yard shot that caromed off the crossbar to keep the Keuka lead intact.

In the 72nd minute, Mastrella encountered some contact near the box while fighting for possession and was awarded a penalty kick. Mastrella, Keuka's dymanic playmaker who led the team with nine goals and 20 points in 2010, had both his penalty kick and the ensuing rebound effort denied, but the Storm weathered the potential momentum swing until Pitt-Bradford knotted the score late.

"This was a good early-season character test for our team," Tantalo said after Keuka won for the seventh time in its last 10 games (7-2-1).

"Johnny, he's a goal scorer and he finds a way to score those big goals for us. … We got to see how we respond to some adversity, and I'm proud of how our guys fought back and found a way to win the match. We did some things well but there are still some issues (to resolve). We'll definitely be ready for the next challenge."

Keuka's defense, which features many newcomers, did a good job of containing Toby Abdul-Razaq, Pitt-Bradford's speedy forward who earned Co-Player of the Year honors in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in 2010 after scoring 15 goals with five assists. While Abdul-Razaq did record the equalizer, he had to work hard for his looks as Keuka tried to apply ample pressure on the dynamic Abdul-Razaq.

The Storm return to action at 7 p.m. Monday night when Hilbert College comes to campus for a non-conference clash.