Freshman James O'Shea scored his first career goal in the 59th minute, but Stonehill fell to #5 Southern Connecticut, 3-2. |
Freshmen O'Shea, O'Brien fuel comeback effort for Skyhawks
EASTON, Mass. (October 3, 2014) – Stonehill College erased a two-goal deficit midway through the second half before fifth-ranked Southern Connecticut State University scored in the 81st minute to earn a 3-2 victory this afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at Skyhawk Field.
Stonehill freshmen James O'Shea (Quincy, Massachusetts/Quincy) and Connor O'Brien (Guilderland, New York/Guilderland) fueled the comeback for the home team with goals six minutes apart in the second half.
Southern Connecticut sophomore forward Kevin Joslyn (Norwalk, Connecticut/Norwalk) opened the scoring in the 26th minute when he headed home a cross from graduate defender Daniel Ruiz (Stamford, Connecticut/Westhill) for his third goal of the season.
The Owls carried their lead into the half, and then went up 2-0 in the 55th minute on an unassisted strike by senior defender Marby Velasquez (Brooklyn, New York/Brentwood).
Less than five minutes later, the Skyhawks got on the board when O'Shea found the back of the net with a shot from the top of the box. The freshman's first career score brought Stonehill to within a goal, at 2-1.
The Skyhawks then drew even in the 65th minute, as O'Brien capitalized on an error by Southern Connecticut freshman goalkeeper Noah Varonier (Miller Place, New York/Miller Place) to tally his team-leading fifth goal of the season. O'Brien currently ranks fourth in the NE-10, and first among freshmen, with 12 points on five goals and two assists so far this fall.
The game remained tied at two for the next 15 minutes, until Southern Connecticut junior forward Daquan King (Plainville, Connecticut) spoiled Stonehill's comeback bid when he dribbled past several Skyhawk defenders into the box and netted the go-ahead goal in the 81st minute.
Varonier made five saves for the Owls, while his counterpart, Stonehill senior goalkeeper Adam Colella (Wilmington, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep), stopped a pair of shots for the Skyhawks.
Stonehill (5-4-1, 3-3-0 NE-10) will look to snap its two-match skid next Wednesday, when the Skyhawks host Franklin Pierce University at 3:30 p.m. Southern Connecticut State (8-0, 6-0 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday as well, when the Owls will try to keep their perfect record intact at home against American International.
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