Keegan scores first goal of the season

EASTON, Mass. (September 7, 2017) – The Stonehill College men's soccer team connected on two headers to take a 2-1 victory over non-conference foe Roberts Wesleyan College, Thursday night at W.B. Mason Stadium.

Stonehill (2-1-1) saw senior Adam Branco (Naugatuck, Connecticut/Naugatuck) and sophomore Keegan Nutt (Easton, Massaschusetts/Oliver Ames) register the goals, as Branco recorded his 51^st career point and Nutt registered his second-career goal. Junior Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) assisted Nutt for his first-career helper.  

Roberts Wesleyan's (0-3-0) Sam Moody notched the lone goal for the Redhawks, as Logan Wood had the assist.

The Redhawks took the Skyhawks to their offensive third right off the bat in the first half, but Stonehill's backline was able to protect the net with Roberts Wesleyan taking the first corner kick of the game. Stonehill responded with its' own corner kick in the sixth minute of the game and was headed high by Daniel Pereira (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) over the crossbar.

The Skyhawks were called offsides in the seventh minute, but took the ball back and brought it back into their offensive third. Branco, in the box, watched the ball as a Redhawks' defender headed the ball high and then the senior was able to nudge the ball to the right corner for an early 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.

In the 35^th minute of the game, Vercollone trapped the ball 20 yards away and found Nutt open inside the six-yard box to head the ball to the far left post for a 2-0 advantage. The Skyhawks tallied three shots before the half finished, including two on goal and one wide.

Possession toggled back and forth in the beginning of the second half, as Roberts Wesleyan launched three corner kicks before cutting the deficit to one, 2-1 in the 67^th minute of the game. With a foul called on Stonehill, Roberts Wesleyan's Wood took a free kick from 40 yards out sending the ball to the top of the 18-yard box for Moody, who drove the ball to the back left post. The Skyhawks outshot the Redhawks 16-9, as Roberts Wesleyan totaled 14 fouls against Stonehill's six in the very aggressive and fast-moving game.

The Skyhawks will host Mercy College on Saturday, September 9 on Skyhawk Field for its final non-conference match-up of the year, with a start time of 11:00 a.m.

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