Sund Leads Offensive Onslaught as #24 Men's Soccer Downs Southern Connecticut, 4-0
Links: Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore midfielder Lars Sund (Stavanger, Norway) collected his first career multi-goal effort and five points overall to lead the No. 24 Merrimack College men's soccer team to a 4-0 win over Northeast-10 rival Southern Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon at Jess Dow Field.
The Basics
Score: #24 Merrimack 4, Southern Conn. 0
Records: #24 Merrimack (9-2, 6-1 NE-10)| Southern Conn. (5-4-1, 3-3-1 NE-10)
Location: Jess Dow Field | New Haven, Conn.
How It Happened
- 1' – Seconds into the start of the game, the Owls won a corner and nearly capitalized, but senior Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.) touched a rolling ball off the goal line and away from the near post
- 6' – Junior defender Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) continued his scorching hot pace by delivering a corner into the box that senior Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) one-touched into the net to open the scoring
- 17' – About ten minutes later, sophomore Lars Sund (Stavanger, Norway) won a free kick and struck the ensuing set piece into the six-yard area where center back Josue Ruiz Maya (Madero, Mexico) tapped a right-footed shot into the gaping net to double the Warriors' advantage
- 20' – After setting up the second goal, it was Sund's turn to join the offensive attack. Cortes Torres played a ball to the sophomore midfielder, who took a pair of touches before striking a shot into the bottom-left of the net
- 70' – Merrimack settled in defensively after the third goal, with the Owls' best chance coming midway through the second half, but sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) stopped a shot from distance and corralled the rebound to prevent a second-chance opportunity
- 74' – Sund, who played one of the best games of his career, scored his second of the day to increase the Merrimack lead to four-nil
Inside The Numbers
- Sund's career day featured his first career two-goal game, and coupled with his assist on Ruiz Maya's tally made it a career-high five-point contest
- The second-year central midfielder moved into the team lead in points with 12, doubling his total from his rookie campaign (6)
- By opening the scoring, Cortes Torres and Sund are now tied for the team lead in goals with four. The former also was credited with an assist on the day, his second of the season
- Ruiz Maya registered his third goal of the year, as Merrimack defenders have combined for seven goals through 11 games
- Speaking of backs, Lanzi increased his point streak to three games and has seven in that span on two goals and three helpers
- Merrimack played at Jess Dow Field on Saturday for the first time since the program's 1-0 upset victory over the Owls in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, when Southern Connecticut was the 10th-ranked team in the nation. Current junior Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) set up the game-winning goal with his assist during his rookie season
Up Next
The Warriors return to Martone-Mejail Field on Tuesday night to face Assumption at 7 p.m.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
