#18 Men's Soccer Clinches Second-Place NE-10 Finish with 3-0 Victory at Saint Michael's

#18 Men's Soccer Clinches Second-Place NE-10 Finish with 3-0 Victory at Saint Michael's

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COLCHESTER, Vt. – Behind a three-goal effort from its offense, the No. 18 Merrimack College men's soccer team wrapped up the second seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a 3-0 victory over playoff-bound Saint Michael's on Friday afternoon from Duffy Field.

The Basics
 Score: #18 Merrimack 3, Saint Michael's 0
Records: #18 Merrimack (13-2-2, 9-2-2 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (8-8-1, 5-7-1 NE-10)
Location: Duffy Field | Colchester, Vt.

What They Said
 Head coach Tony Martone: "Very to happy to end the regular season with a victory against another tough opponent in Saint Michael's. We executed the game plan well and look forward to returning home to prepare for postseason play. "

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. Merrimack will host the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, playing either Saint Rose or Le Moyne depending on the remaining results in the regular season. 

1. Southern New Hampshire (11-1-0; 33 points)
2. Merrimack (9-2-2; 29 points)
3. Adelphi (8-2-2; 26 points)
4. Southern Connecticut (8-3-1; 25 points)
5. Le Moyne (8-4-1; 25 points)
6. Bentley (8-4-1; 25 points)
7. Saint Rose (7-4-1; 22 points)
8. Saint Michael's (5-7-1; 16 points)

How It Happened
 Merrimack entered the game needing a win to secure the second seed in the upcoming NE-10 Championship.The Warriors got off to a good start as sophomore Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) attempted a header that ricocheted off the cross bar and away from danger in the third minute.

Seven minutes later, the Navy and Gold got on the board. Junior Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England) played a free kick into the 18-yard box that junior forward Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) one-timed into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

The Purple Knights nearly equalized in the 19th minute. A Warriors foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick, with Griffin Gardner attempting the shot for the hosts. Sophomore goalkeeper Cody Russell (Oceanside, Calif.) stepped up, making the save to keep Merrimack ahead.

The Warriors built a two-goal lead with a tally late in the second half. A two-assist delivery from freshman Todd Righini (Salem, N.H.) and Cortes Torres ended with sophomore Michael Dushman (Bedford, Mass.) striking his third goal of year into the side netting. The Warriors doubled up the Purple Knights in shots in the opening stanza, taking a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Russell made his second save of the afternoon in the 56th minute to maintain the two-goal advantage. Later on in the second stanza, senior forward Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) scored his 11th goal courtesy of assists from Douglas Searl (Westford, Mass.) and junior Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.).

The victory wraps up second place in the conference for the Warriors, finishing three spots higher than they did in 2014. The Navy and Gold await the result of tonight's contest between Saint Rose and Adelphi to see who they play in the quarterfinals.

Inside The Numbers
  • Cortes Torres extended his point streak to five games and now has back-to-back multi-point games. After four points through 10 games, the junior now has 12 points over his last seven contests. With 16 points on the season, he is tied for tenth in the conference in scoring
  • Borrowing results for the remaining games today, Silva will end the season with a share of the NE-10 goal-scoring title. His 11 goals extend his career high as he now has 26 points on the season, the second most in the conference
  • Briers picked up his second assist of the season, tying his career high that he set last season. With three goals in the finale, the Warriors have now scored a league-high 40 goals on the year
  • Russell improves to 3-0 this season, collecting his first career clean sheet against the Purple Knights. The first-half penalty kick was the first PK he saw in his career which was part of a four-save day, setting a new single-game high in saves
  • Freshman Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) made his Warriors debut over the final seven minutes, picking up his first career save in the 89th minute

Up Next
 The Warriors await their opponent in the NE-10 Quarterfinals, which will be played on Tuesday at Martone-Mejail Field.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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