Stonehill Edges New Haven On Late Goal, 3-2


Freshman forward James O'Shea put Stonehill ahead for good with his goal in the 87th minute tonight against New Haven.

O'Shea, Montano spark offense with second half scores

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (October 11, 2014) – Freshman forward James O'Shea (Quincy, Massachusetts/Quincy) scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute to lift Stonehill College to a back and forth, 3-2 victory at the University of New Haven this evening in Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer action at Arcadio Rodriguez Field.  

O'Shea's go-ahead score came just 34 seconds after New Haven found the equalizer it had been seeking for the majority of the half. Chargers junior midfielder JP DiTommaso (Farmington, Connecticut/Farmington) served a cross to senior forward Andres Torres (Medellin, Colombia/Adelphi University), who found the back of the net from 12 yards out to pull the home team even at 2-2.

 New Haven opened the scoring in the 12th minute, when senior forward Sal DiTommaso's (Farmington, Connecticut/Farmington) free kick was redirected into the net by sophomore Rob Poirier (Old Lyme, Connecticut/Lyme-Old Lyme) to stake the Chargers to a 1-0 lead.

Stonehill tied it up at 27:38 of the first half, when senior midfielder Tyler Brondyk (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) beat New Haven freshman goalkeeper Marc Scelsa (Islip, New York/Islip) for his second goal of the season.

The game remained tied for the remainder of the half, before junior forward Drew Montano (Avon, Connecticut/Avon) put the Skyhawks out in front for the first time on a header goal in the 62nd minute.

Stonehill maintained its 2-1 lead for almost 25 minutes, until the Chargers and Skyhawks traded goals in the late stages of the game.

Senior goalkeeper Adam Colella (Wilmington, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) made three saves for the Skyhawks, while his counterpart Scelsa turned aside six of the nine shots that came his way.

Stonehill's victory today marks its second straight over New Haven and third overall dating back to the 2011 campaign. The Skyhawks earned matching 2-1 triumphs over the Chargers in both 2011 and 2013, while New Haven posted a 1-0 win in 2012.

Following this evening's match, Stonehill (7-4-1, 5-3-0 NE-10) will hit the road on Tuesday for an NE-10 test at Merrimack College, which is currently ranked No. 17 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Poll. The Skyhawks are then set to return home next Saturday, October 18th to host American International College. New Haven (2-9-0, 1-6-0 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday afternoon against Adelphi University.

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