Men's Soccer Plays to 1-1 Draw with Dominican to Wrap Up Merrimack Invitational
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Down by a goal after the first half of play, the Merrimack men's soccer team rallied with a second-half strike to tie the contest, but that 1-1 draw would hold throughout the remainder of the second half and both overtimes, as the Warriors tied Dominican College in the final match of the Merrimack Invitational on Saturday night at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Warriors (1-0-1) weathered the storm in the first half after being out-shot by a 7-5 margin and promptly turned it on in the second half, as the Chargers (1-0-1) yielded the tying goal in the 51st minute.
But for the final 40 minutes of the second half and through a pair of 10-minute overtime sessions, neither team would find the back of the net. The Warriors had plenty of chances, outshooting Dominican by a 16-6 margin from the second half on, but Andres Ruiz turned aside all four shots he faced for the Chargers.
After Matthew Shutter put the visitors ahead in the 36th minute after flicking a corner kick service past Merrimack goalkeeper Jose Silva (Northborough, Mass.), senior Franklin Lemus Pena (Revere, Mass.) tied the contest early in the second half after burying a left-to-right pass from sophomore Michael Rincon (Medford, Mass.) that beat Ruiz from 10 yards out to even the score at 1-1.
That score would hold despite several close chances near the end of the second half and in overtime.
"Give credit to the guys and the second-half adjustments we made, but that was a tough tie to take," head coach Tony Martone said afterward. "We let up a tough goal to start but we battled back."
Silva finished with five saves in his second collegiate match, while the Warriors held a 21-13 advantage in shot attempts and 20-14 edge in total fouls. Merrimack also earned nine corners over five for Dominican.
Merrimack next travels to conference foe UMass-Lowell to open up Northeast-10 Conference action on Wednesday, Sept. 5. First whistle is set for 7 p.m.
