Silva Earns Gutsy Eighth Shutout as No. 16 Warriors Top Saint Mike's, 2-0
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – First-year sophomore goalkeeper Jose Silva (Northborough, Mass.) turned aside seven shutouts for his eighth shutout of the season, as the No. 16 Merrimack men's soccer team extended its season-high unbeaten streak to 10 straight games, downing Saint Michael's College, 2-0, in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown on Tuesday night at Martone-Mejail Field.
Thanks to Silva's heroics and a pair of first-half goals, the Warriors managed to improve to 11-2-2 on the season and 9-2-1 in league play. The Purple Knights fell to an even 6-6-4 and 2-6-4 inside the conference by virtue of the defeat.
By virtue of the win, the Warriors maintain their second-place position in the league standings and clinch at least a top-four seed in the NE-10 Tournament, meaning they will host a quarterfinal matchup at Martone-Mejail Field next Tuesday.
Merrimack scored both of its goals within a 10-minute span, as freshman Douglas Searl (Westford, Mass.) and senior Olof Lindhe (Stockholm, Sweden) helped Merrimack eclipse the two-goal mark for the first time since downing Southern Connecticut, 2-1, back on Sept. 30.
In the second half, the Warriors withstood the visitors' six shot attempts, as Silva finished with four saves in the first half and three in the second to earn his eighth clean sheet on the year.
Making the Northborough, Mass., native's efforts that much more impressive was the fact that Silva withstood a nearly direct kick to the face after coming off of his line on an aggressive save early in the first half to break up a potential 3-on-1 chance. Despite being shaken up on the play, Silva remained in the game after a lengthy injury timeout and still stood tall despite the stoppage.
Rejuvenated by their keepers' heroics, the Warriors finally broke through in the 29th minute, as Searl and Lindhe connected for the first goal of the game. A pretty set of Merrimack passes inside the box led to a grade-A chance for Lindhe from about 15 yards out. Saint Mike's keeper Logan Kingman (three saves) made the initial stop, but Searl was waiting to bury the rebound on an open right side of the net to give Merrimack a 1-0 edge at 28:19.
Just less than 10 minutes later, Merrimack had itself another scoring chance as rookie midfielder Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) sliced into the box from the left side and cut down the goal line toward the keeper. After drawing the attention of the defense, Silva slipped a perfect pass into the middle for Lindhe, who blasted a rocket into the upper-right corner to double the lead, 2-0, in the 39th minute.
Merrimack trailed in both halves in shot attempts – and 14-12 in total for the game – but capitalized on their five shots on target, as Lindhe and Silva led the way with two shot attempts each. Ian Rowe and Ben Lessard attempted a side-high three shots for the visitors, but Silva would not be denied another shutout in his already head-turning sophomore season.
Merrimack held a slim 4-3 edge in corner kicks on the game, while both sides combined for 20 fouls.
Next up, the Warriors wrap up the regular season by hosting last-place Saint Rose on Friday, Oct. 26. Before the game, the team will recognize its eight seniors plus senior assistant coach Sam Nunes in a Senior Night Ceremony before first kick against the Golden Knights gets underway at approximately 7 p.m.
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