Postseason Rematch On Deck for Men's Soccer at Stonehill Wednesday (3:30 p.m.)
Links: Live Stats
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's soccer team enters the stretch run of the regular season Wednesday afternoon with a road contest against the Stonehill Skyhawks at 3:30 p.m. The Warriors and Skyhawks met last season in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals, with Merrimack departing with a 2-1 victory.
The Basics
Date/Time: 10/21 | 3:30 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (9-2-2, 5-2-2 NE-10) | Stonehill (5-6-2, 2-5-2)
Location: Skyhawk Field | Easton, Mass.
Last Time Out:
The Warriors prevailed in thrilling fashion against Franklin Pierce on Saturday night, 2-1, thanks to the game-winning goal from junior forward Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) with 8.1 seconds remaining in regulation.
Merrimack peppered the Ravens with 13 second-half shots, including a 49th-minute equalizer from junior forward Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.), to erase a 1-0 deficit. On the game-winner, junior midfielder Connor O'Brien (Sandwich, Mass.) won an aerial ball in the midfield before playing it to senior captain Douglas Searl (Westford, Mass.). Searl delivered a 30-yard cross into the box, where Cortes Torres headed the ball into the net.
With the goal, Cortes Torres now has three on the season and is third on the team in points (3g, 1a). Alleyne scored his second goal of the season while making his second start in 13 appearances.
Senior forward Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) remains tied for first in the NE-10 in goals with seven, and sits in second in points with 18 (7g, 4a). The Warriors as a team boast the most prolific offense in the conference, scoring an average of 2.3 goals per game. Sophomore Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) rests among the top-five in the league in assists with six.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-eight programs in the NE-10 standings advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the top-four teams hosting quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Warriors have three games remaining in the regular season following the matchup Wednesday with Stonehill.
1. Southern New Hampshire (9-0; 27 points)
2. Southern Connecticut (6-2-1; 19 points)
3. Bentley (6-3; 18 points)
4. Merrimack (5-2-2; 17 points)
5. Adelphi (5-2-2; 17 points)
6. Le Moyne (5-4; 15 points)
7. Saint Michael's (4-4-1; 13 points)
8. Saint Rose (4-4-1; 13 points)
Last Season vs. Stonehill:
Merrimack played Stonehill twice last season, defeating the Skyhawks in both meetings. The Navy and Gold own a four-game winning streak over Stonehill dating back to the 2012 season, outscoring the Skyhawks by six goals during that span.
In the regular season contest played at Martone-Mejail Field, the Warriors won by a 3-0 score. Meza and Alleyne knocked home two of the three goals for Merrimack.
The quarterfinal matchup saw Merrimack score twice in the second half after seceding an own goal in the first stanza to come away with the one-goal win. Meza and Silva scored the tallies for the Warriors.
The Skyhawks:
- Stonehill enters the game among the bottom half of the teams in the NE-10 standings. The Skyhawks currently are on a three-game winless streak including a 4-1 loss to Le Moyne in their most recent game
- Sophomore Adam Branco and senior Drew Montano have scored a combined 11 of Stonehill's 20 goals through 13 games. Branco leads the team with 15 points (6g, 3a)
- Senior Luke Besse has a 1.83 goals against average and a .667 save percentage in 11 starts this season, making a total of 42 saves
Up Next
A pivotal contest awaits the Navy and Gold on Saturday night, as the Warriors travel to No. 2 Southern New Hampshire on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. contest. The Penmen have yet to lose this season and defeated the Warriors in the conference semifinals last year.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
