#8 Men's Soccer Battles Bentley Wednesday (7 p.m.)
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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The eighth-ranked Merrimack College men's soccer team returns home for two games this week beginning on Tuesday night, when the Warriors take on Bentley University at 7 p.m. from Martone-Mejail Field in Northeast-10 Conference action.
The Basics
Date/Time: 9/23 | 7 p.m.
Records: #8 Merrimack (6-0, 2-0 NE-10) | Bentley (2-3, 1-1 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
Last Time Out:
For the second straight game, the Warriors conceded the first goal, but Merrimack scored five unanswered goals to move past the University of New Haven, 5-1, on Friday evening down in West Haven, Conn.
Trailing 1-0, sophomore Michael Dushman (Bedford, Mass.) scored his second goal of the season for the Navy and Gold to tie the game at one-all before reserve Paul Magazzu (Reading, Mass.) recorded his first career goal in the 45th minute, which turned out to be the game-winner. Magazzu was named the NE-10 Rookie of the Week after scoring in just the second game of his freshman season.
The Warriors tacked on three goals in the second half, courtesy of Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England), Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) and Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.). Briers now has three tallies on the season, which ties his career high, and all of them have come on penalty kicks. Silva extended his conference-leading total to six goals and also leads the league with 13 points. After scoring five times in 2014, Alleyne registered the first goal of his junior season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.) stopped a career-high four shots against the Chargers to pick up his seventh career win. The second-year play has now won all seven of his starts to begin his career. Rezende boasts a .500 save percentage and a 1.35 goals against average through six contests.
Alleyne, Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico), Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) and Lars Sund (Stavanger, Norway) all notched assists against the Chargers. Meza, who totaled helpers on Merrimack's first and last goals, now has six assists on the year to lead the Warriors. He has three more helpers than the next closet player in the conference, while the sophomore is also tied for sixth nationally in assists.
With 21 goals through six games, the Navy and Gold have the 10th most proficient offense in the country, averaging 3.50 goals per game. The Warriors have scored 13 times over the last three games, the most the program has scored over a three-game span since 2010, when Merrimack tallied 14 goals in the three consecutive contests.
Last Season vs. Bentley:
The Warriors and Falcons met in Waltham last season to begin conference play, with the contest ending in a 2-2 draw.
Zepeda Cagide and Silva scored goals for the Warriors, while Briers and senior Jonathan Fletcher (New Plymouth, New Zealand) registered assists. The helper marked the first career point for Fletcher, who appeared in 16 games and made his first career start last season. The matchup between local rivals was one of two ties last year for Merrimack.
The Falcons:
- Bentley enters Wednesday with a 2-3 mark, including a 1-1 record in league play. In their most recent game, the Falcons put up a clean sheet against Assumption, 1-0. Their lone defeat in NE-10 play came against No. 5 Southern N.H. during which the lone goal came on a Penmen penalty kick
- The Falcons have scored five goals through five games with five different players scoring. Senior Nick Hoffman (1g, 1a) represents the lone Falcon with a goal and an assist on the year
- Senior goalkeeper Jack Blatchford has been playing well for Bentley, making 12 saves for a .706 SV% and owning a 0.97 GAA
Up Next
The Warriors conclude the week with a NE-10 matchup vs. Le Moyne on Saturday at 6 p.m. from Martone-Mejail Field.
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