Men's Soccer Hands #2 Southern N.H. First Loss in 2-0 Upset Saturday Night
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Behind a stellar three-save performance from reserve goalkeeper Cody Russell (Oceanside, Calif.) and the game-winning goal from sophomore Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy), the Merrimack College men's soccer team upset second-ranked Southern New Hampshire, 2-0, on Saturday night from Larkin Field. The victory kept the Warriors in second place in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Penmen suffered their first loss of the season.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 2, #2 Southern New Hampshire 0
Records: Merrimack (11-2-2, 7-2-2 NE-10) | #2 Southern New Hampshire (13-1-0, 10-1-0)
Location: Dr. George J. Larkin Field | Manchester, N.H.
What They Said
Head coach Tony Martone: "The guys executed the game plan to perfection and played hard. We scored a couple timely goals, and it's a great win for the program. Cody played exceptionally well. He made two top-notch saves, and managed everything in the back really well. It's what we're all about, someone goes down and the next person steps up."
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 two games next week to conclude the regular season.
1. Southern New Hampshire (10-1-0; 30 points)
2. Merrimack (7-2-2; 23 points)
3. Adelphi (7-2-2; 23 points)
4. Southern Connecticut (6-3-1; 19 points)
5. Le Moyne (6-4-1; 19 points)
6. Bentley (6-4-1; 19 points)
7. Saint Rose (6-4-1; 19 points)
8. Saint Michael's (5-5-1; 16 points)
How It Happened
Entering the day, the Warriors and Penmen were the top-two programs in the conference. Outside of one corner kick for the hosts, neither team mustered many changes over the first 15 minutes of action.
After a collision in the box in the 19th minute, Russell replaced starter and classmate Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.) in net. By playing nearly 27 first-half minutes, Russell set a new career high for minutes play as he made only his second appearance of the season.
Seven minutes after Russell came on, the Warriors got a goal to support their new keeper. Junior Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England) played a corner kick into the danger area that found Lanzi, who sent the nights first shot through a crowd of bodies and into the back of the net to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Merrimack did not record a shot over the remainder of the half, while both of the Penmen's attempts went wide of the net. The Navy and Gold entered halftime with the one-goal advantage.
The second half started quickly for the Warriors as junior Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) pressuring Penmen goalkeeper Nick Zucco led to a goal. Cortes Torres blocked a clearing attempt by Zucco, who was away from the net, allowing the Warriors forward to collect the loose ball and play it towards the middle of the box. Senior forward Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) potted the ensuing shot into the vacant net to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
The 64th minute saw a flurry of action on both ends. After Russell made his first save of the night, the Warriors moved forward on the counterattack that saw Silva take a shot that forced Zucco to dive to his right and deflect it out of bounds. The Penmen gained possession back and attempted consecutive shots on Russell, both of which he saved. On the second save, Rayane Boukemia ripped one on net from 10 yards out that forced the Oceanside native to punch the ball out of play.
That was the most dangerous chance the Penmen had in the second stanza. Leading scorer Sofiane Tergou attempted two shots in the 85th minute, with the final attempt sent wide. The Penmen's final shot came from Sebastian Stezewski with less than five minutes to play, but it sailed over the net.
With the win, the Warriors snapped a seven-game winless streak against the Penmen that included six losses. The victory marked Merrimack's first win against their local rival since September of 2011.
Inside The Numbers
- Russell's night: After playing in only 6:35 of game action entering the pivotal league contest, the sophomore goalkeeper performed admirably in his first extended time in net for the Warriors. He made his first save of the night in the 54th minute and finished the game with a career-high three saves. He didn't allow a goal against a Penmen team that had scored an average of 3.00 goals per game in the month of October
- When Silva's goal tickled the twine, it marked the first multi-goal deficit of the year for the Penmen. It was only the second time this season SNHU had trailed, and the first time the Penmen backline had allowed more than one goal in a game
- Lanzi's first-half strike marked his first career game-winning goal. With goals in back-to-back contests, Silva moved back into first in the conference with nine goals on the season
- More on Silva: The senior forward's second-half goal set a new career high in both goals (9) and points (22). He now has 60 career points, becoming the 14th player in program history to reach that mark
- Senior Jonathan Fletcher (New Plymouth, New Zealand) returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games. Freshmen Sergio Martinez (Tampico, Mexico), Michael Romeo (Worcester, Mass.) and Todd Righini (Salem, N.H.) all saw increased minutes against the second-ranked team in the nation
Up Next
Merrimack plays in its regular-season home finale on Tuesday night against Saint Anselm at 7 p.m. The Warriors will celebrate Senior Day, honoring six members of the Navy and Gold.
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