#8 Men's Soccer Suffers First Loss, 2-0, vs. Le Moyne
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Despite outshooting the visiting Le Moyne College Dolphins by 14 shots, the eighth-ranked Merrimack College men's soccer team could not get a shot past goalkeeper Ben Beaury as the Warriors suffered their first loss of the season, 2-0, on Saturday night from Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: #8 Merrimack 0 | Le Moyne 2
Records: #8 Merrimack (7-1, 3-1 NE-10) | Le Moyne (5-2, 2-2 NE-10)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Hammel Court
How It Happened
The first half started slowly for both sides, with neither team mustering a dangerous chance over the first 15 minutes of the game. In the 23rd minute, sophomore midfielder Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) was marked with a yellow card for the first booking of the night
With less than 15 minutes remaining in the half, the Warriors had recorded five shots compared to zero for Le Moyne. Merrimack's sixth chance was the best of the half, as Lanzi corralled a long ball delivered by Douglas Searl (Westford, Mass.), but Beaury came off his line to deflect Lanzi's attempt away from the net.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Rezende (Weymouth, Mass.) made his first save seconds after Lanzi's chance, as Le Moyne's first shot of the night came inside of the six-yard box. In the 38th minute, midfielder Cal Filtch, the reigning Northeast-10 Player of the Week, took a free kick that bounced inside the danger area and past Rezende for the first goal of the night.
In the second half, Merrimack continued to pressure the net of Beaury especially over the first 25 minutes. Within the first three minutes of the half, sophomore Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) and Lanzi had shots inside the box saved by the Dolphins sophomore keeper.
In the 55th minute, senior captain Julio Leon Garcia (Caracas, Venezuela) curled a free kick that narrowly curled inside the left post but went just wide. Merrimack's best chance of the second stanza came off a cross from Leon Garcia in the 81st minute that found senior Augusto Silva (Hudson, Mass.) inside the danger area, but the Warriors' leading scorer headed the ball just wide of the far post.
Le Moyne tacked on an insurance goal in the final five minutes to secure the 2-0 victory. The Dolphins improved to 2-2 in conference play, while the Navy and Gold took their first defeat in league play.
Inside The Numbers
- Merrimack took its first loss since the NCAA Tournament last season, which was also the last time the Warriors were kept off the scoreboard. Merrimack entered Saturday night owning one of the top-10 most prolific offenses in the nation. The loss ends the best start for the program since 2004, when the Warriors also won the first seven games of the year
- Merrimack controlled possession through, especially over the first 70 minutes. In the second half, junior center back Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England) moved into an attacking position but to no avail. The Warriors outshot the Dolphins by 14 (17-3) and by a 10-1 margin in the second stanza
- All three of Lanzi's shots were on goal to lead the team, while Silva attempted a game-high six shots
- Two yellow cards were dished out, with Leon Garcia receiving a booking in addition to Lanzi
Up Next
Merrimack concludes the month of September on Tuesday evening when they travel to Albany, N.Y. for a league contest with Saint Rose at 7 p.m.
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