Cortes Torres Heads #19 Men's Soccer to Overtime Victory, 1-0, vs. Assumption Tuesday
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights | Jaime Cortes Torres Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – An old-fashioned duel between senior forward Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) of the No. 19 Merrimack College men's soccer and Assumption College goalkeeper Brian Murray unfolded in Tuesday's night Northeast-10 Conference clash, with the senior striker's game-winning goal – on his ninth shot of the night – powering the Warriors to a 1-0 double-overtime victory from Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: #19 Merrimack 1 , Assumption 0
Records: #19 Merrimack (10-2, 7-1 NE-10) | Assumption (5-7, 4-4 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
- 4' – Assumption struck the night's first shot, as a free kick found its way through a few runners, forcing sophomore Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) to make a reactionary save
- 8' – Senior captain Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) attempted Merrimack's first shot, but it was saved by Greyhounds keeper Brian Murray
- 25' – Murray again proved why he's been one of the top newcomers to the conference, stopping a one-touch attempt from Lars Sund (Stavanger, Norway)
- 28' – Senior Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) struck a leaping header, which appeared destined for the upper-90, but Murray reacted to punch it over the bar
- 31' – Assumption nearly capitalized on the counterattack, but a two-on-one resulted in a shot off the post followed by a rebound attempt saved by Packett
- 44' – Senior Ryan Wine (New Braintree, Mass.) came on as a reserve and made one of the better defensive efforts of the night, racing back to flick a through ball away from danger that nearly resulted in a Greyhounds breakaway
- 47' – Immediately to start the half, the Navy and Gold threatened. Off a corner kick, Zepeda Cagide lined a low shot through a maze of bodies that Murray stopped. The deflection went to Cortes Torres, who powered a shot off Murray's chest and back to him, but the third attempt was also saved by the rookie keeper
- 72' – Another meeting between Cortes Torres and Murray resulted in a save for the visitors, keeping the game scoreless
- 83' – A knuckling shot from distance by Assumption's Matt Gilson challenged Packett, but the second-year keeper pushed the attempt over the bar and out of play
- 92' – One more time, Murray on Cortes Torres goes in favor of the visitors, with the keeper making his first save of overtime
- 94' – Packett answered on the other end with a two-handed diving punch to put a shot away from the frame
- 103' – 2:33 into the second overtime, Cortes Torres finally bested Murray. Junior Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) struck a free kick from the outskirts of the attacking third, and found Cortes Torres making a near-post run. The senior dove low and flicked a header inside the near post to celebrate his second last-second winner at home in as many seasons
Inside The Numbers
- Of Merrimack's 11 shots on goal, eight came from the Navy and Gold's leading goal scorer in Cortes Torres. He finished with nine attempts in total, setting a new career high
- The attacking midfielder turned striker netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season, and tied Sund for the team high with 12 points. He needs one more goal to tie his career high of six set last season
- Lanzi extended both his point and assist streak to four games, as he now has dished out helpers in four straight contests. Merrimack's set-piece extraordinaire leads the team with five helpers on the year
- Not to be out shined – Packett kept the Warriors in it by tying his career high with five saves en route to his fifth clean sheet of the season
- Murray finished with 10 saves, eight of which came on attempts from Cortes Torres.
- Merrimack improved to 2-1 in overtime games this season, winning its first game since a victory over Post in the season's second game
- Shots (SOG): MER 22 (11) // ASM 9 (5)
- Corners: MER 9 // ASM 3
Up Next
The Warriors travel to Rindge, N.H. on Saturday night for 7 p.m. date with Franklin Pierce.
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