Late Penalty Kick Dooms #15 Men's Soccer, 2-1, Against Southern CT Saturday Afternoon
Links: Highlights | Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 15 Merrimack College men's soccer team doubled up the visiting Southern Connecticut State Owls in shots and senior Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) scored in his return to the lineup, but the Warriors could not overcome a second-half penalty kick for the Owls in a 2-1 loss from Martone-Mejail Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
Score: Southern Connecticut 2, #15 Merrimack 1
Records: #15 Merrimack (7-2-2, 3-2-2 NE-10) | Southern Connecticut (6-3-1, 5-1-1 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
The Warriors and the Owls met for the first time since the NCAA Tournament Second Round last year, during which the Navy and Gold upset the second-seeded Owls en route to an appearance in the East Regional Final for the first time in program history.
Southern Connecticut did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard. Ignacio Navarro played a ball into the box that was flicked on by Louis Greenway Tambini, the Owls' leading scorer, to Chae Brangman who scored his first of two on the afternoon in the sixth minute.
The visitors nearly made it two in a row in the 14th minute, if not for a spectacular save from sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.). Navarro dodged past multiple Merrimack defenders to break in all alone on Rezende, who came off his line and made a sliding save, deflecting the ball away from danger.
In the 29th minute, Silva replaced junior Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) to make his first appearance in two weeks after missing the Warriors' previous two games. Merrimack's leading score did not take long to make an impact, converting on a 30th-minute free kick to knot the game at one. Graduate midfielder Patrick Jennings (Llandudno, Wales) played the set piece into the box, where Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) flicked a header back to Silva, who one-timed one with his left foot into the net.
The second half began with the one-all score. In the 59th minute, Cortes Torres received a cross from Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia), but pushed his header just over the cross bar.
The miss proved to be costly as in the 74th minute Brangman broke in on Rezende, who took down the opposing forward in the box. Brangman converted on the ensuing penalty kick, which ultimately turned out to be the game-winner.
Junior captain Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England) and sophomore Michael Dushman (Bedford, Mass.) came on as reserves late in the second half. The combo connected on a scoring chance in the 80th minute, with Briers heading a ball to Dushman into space, but the forward could not get a shot off. That proved to be Merrimack's best opportunity over the remainder of the game, as SCSU held on for the one-goal win.
Inside The Numbers
- Silva connected on his 21st career goal and seventh of the year. He now has 18 points to lead the Warriors and has scored in five of his nine appearances in 2015
- Both Cortes Torres and Jennings picked up their first career assists on Merrimack's lone goal. For Jennings, the helper marked his first career point with the Navy and Gold
- Rezende finished with two saves on the afternoon. His counterpart, Noah Varonier, compiled seven stops for the Owls
- The Warriors finished with a 13-6 edge in shots, while also taking four more corner kicks than the Owls (5-1)
Up Next
Merrimack travels out to Worcester on Tuesday evening for a 7 p.m. match against Assumption College.
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