Wine's First-Ever Goal Caps Off 2-0 Win for Men's Soccer Friday on Senior Night

Wine's First-Ever Goal Caps Off 2-0 Win for Men's Soccer Friday on Senior Night

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Links: Box Score | Game Highlights | Briers/Wine Interview

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Seniors Joseph Briers (Nottingham, England) and Ryan Wine (New Braintree, Mass.) each netted second-half goals on Senior Night Friday as the men's soccer team prevailed over Saint Michael's, 2-0, at Martone-Mejail Field in the regular-season finale. The victory locked up the second seed for the Warriors in next week's Northeast-10 Championship.

The Basics
 Score: Merrimack 2, Saint Michael's 0
Records: Merrimack (13-4, 10-3 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (5-10-1, 3-9-1 NE-10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.

Northeast-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. 1. Merrimack finishes in second place in the NE-10 and will host American International on Tuesday in the conference quarterfinals.

1. Adelphi (11-0-1; 34 points)
2. Merrimack (10-3; 30 points)
3. Le Moyne (9-3-1; 28 points)
4. Franklin Pierce (9-4; 27 points)
5. Southern N.H. (8-3-2; 26 points)
6. Assumption (6-6-1; 19 points)
7. American Int'l (6-6-1; 19 points)
8. Southern Conn. St. (5-5-2; 17 points)

How It Happened

  • 1' – All ten seniors, after being honored in a pregame ceremony made their way into the starting lineup.  Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.), Briers, Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain), Philippe Jean-Baptiste (Worcester, Mass.), William Marcal (Milford, Mass.), Gunnar McCaig (Carver, Mass.), Connor O'Brien (Sandwich, Mass.), Josue Ruiz Maya (Madero, Mexico), Wine and Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) all factored into the starting eleven
  • 18' – Marcal took the Warriors first shot on frame approaching the 20th minute, but the right-footed half-volley was saved by Taylor Wallace
  • 26' – Wallace made another crucial play, coming off his line to snatch a cross served in the direction of Cortes Torres by junior Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia)
  • 28' – Sophomore Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) picked up his third save of the night, which proved to be of the highlight-reel variety, stretching out to stop a partial breakaway by midfielder Liam Mahoney of Saint Michael's\
  • 31' – Zepeda Cagide and Cortes Torres broke on the counterattack, with the latter connecting on a shot that skidded just wide of the far post
  • 67' – After an uneventful first 22 minutes of the second half, sophomore Lars Sund (Stavanger, Norway) delivered a right-footed corner kick that led to the goal. The set-piece service went directly to Briers, who flicked a header into the side netting
  • 81' – After the Navy and Gold successfully defended a set piece, Merrimack broke on the counterattack. Sund played a long ball that deflected off a Purple Knights defender and then off of Wallace, playing Wine in all alone on the frame. The fourth-year midfielder shot the ball into the open net for his first-ever tally

Inside The Numbers

  • For both Briers and Wine, the strikes marked their first goals of the season. Briers struck the 12th goal of his four-year tenure, battling through injuries during his senior season. On Wine's end, he picked up his first goal wearing the Navy and Gold playing in his 54th career game
  • Sund's helper on the first goal was his team-leading seventh of the season. The point brought his season's total to 15, which also leads the team
  • Jean-Baptiste, Marcal and McCaig started in their first games of the season on Friday, with Jean-Baptiste and McCaig earning their first-ever starts on their Senior Night
  • Merrimack finished second in the conference for the second straight season. Last year Merrimack won its quarterfinal matchup to Saint Rose before bowing out to Adelphi in the semifinals
  • Packett picked up his 12th win of the season, and notched his seventh clean sheet. Junior Cody Russell (Oceanside, Calif.) made an appearance in the night's final three minutes
  • Shots (SOG): MER 14 (3) // SMC 9 (4)
  • Corners: MER 4 // SMC 3

Up Next
 The Navy and Gold will host seventh-seeded American International on Tuesday evening at Martone-Mejail Field in the NE-10 Quarterfinals.

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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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