Lanzi's Five-Point Night Powers Men's Soccer to 3-0 Win vs. Saint Rose Tuesday
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior left back Mattia Lanzi (Viterbo, Italy) scored a pair of superb goals – curling shots home with each foot – en route to a five-point night as the Merrimack College men's soccer team downed visiting Saint Rose, 3-0, on Tuesday from Martone-Mejail Field, improving to 5-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 3, Saint Rose 0
Records: Merrimack (8-1, 5-0 NE-10) | Saint Rose (2-6, 0-5 NE-10)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | Martone-Mejail Field
How It Happened
- 4' – The first chance of the night for Merrimack came within five minutes, as a long throw-in from senior Connor O'Brien (Sandwich, Mass.) reached Jaime Cortes Torres (Seville, Spain), but his header was snatched off the goal line by the Saint Rose keeper
- 7' – Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Packett (Eastham, Mass.) answered with his own highlight-reel effort, making a diving stop to his left to keep the game scoreless
- 26' – Just before the Warriors scored, senior midfielder Oscar Zepeda Cagide (Jalisco, Mexico) sent a pin-balling shot that took three deflections before reaching the net, but was punched away from danger
- 27' – One minute later, Lanzi put Merrimack front. The junior back corralled a loose ball, wheeled around and struck a right-footed curling shot into the top corner of the net
- 48' – O'Brien became the second defender of the night to score for the Warriors. Lanzi struck a free kick towards the far post, that the senior captain hit into the back of the net to make it two-nil
- 62' – Junior Juan Meza (Cali, Colombia) nearly made it back-to-back games with goals, but his headed shot was saved
- 72' – Lanzi netted his second of the night, rivaling the quality of his first strike. Lining up from a free kick, the third-year player used his dominant food – the left side on this occasion – to swing a fast-paced ball over the outstretched arms of the keeper and into the net
Inside The Numbers
- After totaling an assist in the season opener, Lanzi went the next seven games without a point. He certainly broke out of the slump Tuesday, setting a career high with his five-point performance
- Nearly a year to date since his first multi-goal game – which happened Sept. 23, 2015 against Bentley – Lanzi posted his second career two-goal night and his assist made it a career performance
- The Italian defender entered Tuesday 11th on the Warriors in points (1) and ended the night in third (6)
- O'Brien's marker made the senior captain the 11th player this season to find the back of the net
- Merrimack extended its winning to streak to six games, needed one more to match last season's seven-game run to begin the year
- Shots (2nd Half): MER 11 // STR 1
- Corners (2nd Half): MER 6 // STR 2
Up Next
The Navy and Gold face another postseason rematch on Saturday evening when the Warriors welcome Adelphi to campus for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Panthers bested Merrimack last season in the NE-10 Semifinals. Saturday's match will be an Ultimate Warrior event, with the first 200 students in attendance receiving a free water bottle.
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