Silva's Hat Trick Paces #17 Men's Soccer in 4-1 Victory vs. Bridgeport Saturday Night
Links: Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. – Senior forward Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) recorded his first career hat trick as the No. 17 Merrimack College men's soccer team surged past the University of Bridgeport, 4-1, in the final game of the UB Men's Soccer Classic on Saturday night from Knights Field. With the win, the Navy and Gold open the season 4-0 for the second straight year.
The Basics
Score: #17 Merrimack 4 | Bridgeport 1
Records: #17 Merrimack (4-0) | Bridgeport (3-1)
Location: Knights Field | Bridgeport, Conn.
What They Said
Head coach Tony Martone: "I'm very proud of the team for coming away from this tournament with two victories. We played two very talented teams over the past three days and two that have the caliber to play deep into the postseason. We created a lot offensively, especially against a team that did not allow a goal on the year entering tonight."
How It Happened
The combination that started the scoring on Thursday afternoon for the Warriors got things going again on Saturday night in the 13th minute, as sophomore Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) crossed a ball into the box that Silva got a head to for his first goal of the night. It was Meza's third assist and Silva's third goal of the season through four games.
Less than ten minutes later, the Warriors capitalized again. After a Bridgeport foul set up a set piece from Merrimack, junior Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) curled a ball into the danger area that senior Douglas Searl (Westford, Mass.) got a head to and flicked it into the back of the net. For the second time in the last three games, Zepeda Cagide picked up an assist on a free-kick service.
That goal would start a string of three tallies in less than a minute. Fifteen seconds after Searl's first of 2015, the Purple Knights' Femi Coker scored off a shot that deflected off of sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.) and into the net. Silva answered for Merrimack just 22 seconds after that as he kicked a shot over the head of the Bridgeport keeper to make it a two-goal game against at 3-1.
Sophomore Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) rang one off the crossbar in the 28th minute, narrowly missing out on his first goal of the year and second of his career.
Over the final 17 minutes of the half, the Warriors recorded only one shot and entered halftime with their two-goal lead. The Warriors outshot the Purple Knights by six attempts, 8-2, over the first 45 minutes with four the shots being on goal.
Silva's hat trick culminated in the 51st minute. After being taken down in the danger area, Silva stepped to the penalty dot and pocketed a shot into the bottom right of the net. Late in the half, Junior Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.) narrowly missed out on his first goal of the year, but had his breakaway shot saved by the Bridgeport keeper. With 90 minutes in the books, the Warriors won, 4-1, and collected two victories at the UB Men's Soccer Classic for the second straight year.
Entering the game, the Purple Knights had not allowed a goal over their first three games and had their season-opening shutout streak end after 282:24 of game time. Merrimack improves to 4-0 for the second straight year with Bridgeport suffering its first loss of 2015. The Warriors went the first six games of 2014 without losing, but that included one draw. The Warriors last won five consecutive games to begin a year in 2010, when the Navy and Gold rattled off a six-game winning streak to begin the year.
Inside The Numbers
- Silva now has 19 goals in his career, five on the season and goals in three of his first four games. That total moves him into a tie for 15th place all-time in program history for career goals. He is tied with Sal Magazzu, whose son Paul Magazzu (Reading, Mass.) is a freshman forward for the Warriors. Magazzu made his collegiate debut late in the second half for the Navy and Gold
- Searl's first-half goal was the ninth of his career and first of the season. During his first two seasons, he scored seven goals as an attacking player and now has his second goal as a left back
- Zepeda Cagide joins Meza as Warriors who have multiple assists on the year. Both of Zepeda Cagide's helpers have come off set pieces while all of Meza's have been played into the 18-yard box from a wide position
- After battling an injury through the first three games of the season, junior midfielder Ryan Wine (New Braintree, Mass.) made his season debut. As a sophomore, Wine appeared in 18 games including his first career start
- Freshman Michael Romeo (Worcester, Mass.) joined Magazzu in making his collegiate debut. Juniors Arlindo Da Gama Bastos (Caracas, Venezuela) and Gunnar McCaig (Carver, Mass.) took the turf for the first time in 2015. Junior Philippe Jean-Baptiste (Worcester, Mass.) took the field for the first time since his freshman season, during which he appeared in seven games
Up Next
Merrimack returns home to begin Northeast-10 Conference play on Tuesday night against American International at 7 p.m.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
