Branco tallies his eighth goal of the season
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Branco leads the team with eight goals adn 17 points this season |
Stonehill's (7-9-0, 5-7-0 NE-10) lone goal came from junior Adam Branco (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) and assisted by freshman Mackenzie Hoglund (Portland, Maine/Cheverus).
Southern Connecticut (7-6-2, 5-5-2 NE-10) saw two goals from Alex Brown and one from Weens Simon, Lucas Saunders, and Sabri Akter. Two assists for the Owls came from Saunders, while one was from Jan-Malte Thesenvitz.
The Owls began the first half with a free kick from about 25 yards out setting up L. Greenway Tambini, but the Skyhawks' back line was there to block the ball. Stonehill then responded with two shots if its own, but fell short in the eighth minute of the game. The Owls sent the ball from the right side of the field inside the six-yard box, where Stonehill would interfere before Simon stole the ball back in the 15th minute of the game to find the back of the net, putting Southern Connecticut on top 1-0.
Late in the first frame, the Owls took advantage of a long ball from Saunders, who dropped it at the top of the six-yard box for Brown to find the back right post in the 40th minute of the game extending the lead to two, 2-0. Four minutes later, Saunders sent the ball from 30 yards out to Brown who beat Stonehill's back line at the top of the 18-yard box for his second of the game.
Stonehill was able to connect on a corner kick from Hoglund in the 57th minute of the game, as Branco tracked the ball and headed it past to the back right post, cutting the lead to two, 3-1. The Owls responded seven minutes later, as Thesenvitz drove a cross from the left side of the field inside the six-yard box, giving Saunders time to pick up the ball and tip it past the goalkeeper. The goal put the Owls up three, 4-1, in the 64th minute of the game.
The two teams battled back and forth for most of the second frame until the 86th minute when Southern Connecticut capitalized on another opportunity. Akter dribbled the ball down the right side of the field battling one-on-one with the Skyhawks' defender, slipping past and finding the back left post for a four-goal differential, 5-1.
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