Men's Soccer Blanks Dominican, 3-0
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – A rookie's first career goal and a pair of penalty kicks powered the Merrimack men's soccer team past Dominican 3-0 Saturday afternoon in the final game of the Merrimack Invitational. The Warriors secure their first win of the 2011 campaign and improve to 1-0-1. The Chargers dip to 0-1-1 on the year with the loss.
The win raises Merrimack's unbeaten streak at home to 14 matches. The Warriors were 8-0-1 on home turf in 2010.
In the 13th minute, rookie Michael Rincon (Medford, MA) picked up a loose ball in the Warriors' offensive end of the field. Rincon dribbled through the middle of the defense and ripped a shot from the top of the penalty area into the cage, marking his first collegiate tally.
Nicholas Lo Coco (Gloucester, MA) added a score in the 40th minute for Merrimack. Lo Coco converted a penalty kick after Ignacio Farias (West Roxbury, MA) was taken down inside the penalty area.
The Warriors carried a 2-0 lead and an 11-7 advantage in shots into halftime.
Merrimack gained a man-advantage in the early stages of the second half when a Charger received his second yellow card, resulting in a red card.
In the 62nd minute, Franklin Pena (San Salvador, El Salvador) was pulled down to the ground in the penalty box after dribbling around a defender, earning the Warriors' second penalty kick of the afternoon. Evan Burokas (Auburn, MA) stepped up and blasted the ball into the net to give the home team a 3-0 edge.
Mattias Drummond (Partille, Sweden) made five saves in goal for Merrimack to claim his first victory of the season. Brandon Heembrock turned aside 10 shots between the pipes for Dominican.
The Warriors owned a 24-19 gap in shots for the match while earning eight corner kicks and allowing just three on the defensive end.
"Our team played well from start to finish today and I was really pleased with the way we possessed the ball," said head coach Tony Martone.
Merrimack continues its season-opening home stand September 7 as it welcomes local rival UMass Lowell to Warrior Field.
In the first game of day two of the Merrimack Invitational, Post University held off American International 2-1.
