#19 Men's Soccer Bows Out of NE-10 Championship with 2-1 Semifinal Loss vs. Le Moyne
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior midfielder Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) of the No. 19 Merrimack College men's soccer program scored on a penalty kick in the 65th minute to tie Saturday's Northeast-10 Semifinal at one-all, but the third-seeded Le Moyne College Dolphins scored in the 84th minute to prevail in 2-1 fashion and advance to Sunday's NE-10 Final.
The Basics
Score: Le Moyne 2, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (14-5) | Le Moyne (14-3-2)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
2016 NE-10 Championship:
Tuesday, November 1st
Quarterfinals - at Higher Seeds
Match 1: #1 Adelphi def. #8 Southern Conn., 1-0
Match 2: #2 Merrimack def. #7 American International, 2-0
Match 3: #3 Le Moyne def. #6 Assumption, 1-0
Match 4: #4 Franklin Pierce def. #5 Southern N.H., 2-1 (2OT)
Friday, November 4th
Semifinals - at Higher Seeds
Match 5: #1 Adelphi def. #4 Franklin Pierce, 2-0
Match 6: #3 Le Moyne def. #2 Merrimack, 2-1
How It Happened
- 11' – After 10 minutes went by without much action, Le Moyne capitalized on a set piece. Sam Daniel delivered a left-footed free kick that took a deflection off a Merrimack defender before reaching Jack Ball, who headed a shot to the left Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) and into the net
- 18' – Junior Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) made a run down the left side and sent a threatening cross through the six-yard box, but the Dolphins cleared the service away
- 34' – Merrimack's best chance of the opening stanza came from freshman reserve Aasmund Joedahl (Ridabu, Norway). The rookie broke behind the Dolphins' right back, and his shot took a deflection, but NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Ben Beaury was positioned to make the save
- 53' – Zepeda Cagide nearly had an equalizer early in the second half but his straightaway shot from 10 yards out was blocked and caromed over the bar
- 65' – Twelve minutes later, the attacking midfielder netted the tying goal. Senior forward Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain) was taken down in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Zepeda Cagide approached the dot and stuck a low-lining shot into the bottom left of the net to make it 1-1
- 74' – Zepeda Cagide nearly put Merrimack in front, but his half-volley from outside the box rose over the cross bar and out of play
- 84' – The Dolphins, after not having possession for much of the second half, scored when Marcello Palucci's cross deflected off a pair of bodies in front and crept over the goal line for the go-ahead goal
Inside The Numbers
- Zepeda Cagide finished the night with a team-high five shots and scored his career-high fourth goal of the season. He has scored both of Merrimack's penalty-kick goals on the year and is one point shy of his career high (9), set as a sophomore
- Ben Beaury proved his billing as the league's top keeper, making five saves on the night. Packett finished the contest with a pair of stops for Merrimack
- From the left side, senior Alexander Alleyne (Swampscott, Mass.) and Lanzi combined for four shots, two of which were on frame
- Shots (SOG): MER 13 (7) // LEM 7 (4)
- Corners: MER 6 // LEM4
Up Next
Merrimack awaits its fate in the NCAA Tournament, with the Selection Show airing on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. The Warriors ranked as the No. 3 team in the East Region in the most recent regional poll, with the program aiming for its third straight trip to the Big Dance.
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