Doherty was part of the defense that held the Tigers to no goals
Degbor scored his first-collegiate goal in a 2-0 victory (PHOTO BY: Andrew Katsampes) |
EASTON, Massachusetts (August 30, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's soccer team won its first game of the season against non-conference foe Holy Family University in a 2-0 shutout on Skyhawk Field on Thursday afternoon.
For the Skyhawks (1-0), senior Justin Brehm (Latham, New York/Shaker) and freshman Eben Degbor (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) tallied the goals, while seniors Patrick Doherty (West Milford, New Jersey/Saint Joseph Regional) and Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachsuetts/Pembroke) registered assists. Junior Billy Troast (Pompton Plains, New Jersey/Pequannock Township) appeared in his first collegiate game and tallied his first shutout with five saves.
The first 10 minutes of the game was very aggressive as four fouls were called in that time. At the eighth minute, Holy Family's Georg Montag ripped a free kick from right above the 18-yard box that was blocked by Stonehill's wall for the first attempt of the game. The Tigers had another opportunity at the 11th minute but Troast collected his first save. The Skyhawks then responded with back-to-back shots, one by Trevor Tubbs (Northridge, California/Crespi Carmelite High School) and the other by John Mavridis (Milton, Massachusetts/Milton) that resulted in a corner kick being cleared by the Tigers.
Brehm scored his fourth-career goal during the shutout |
In the 30th minute, Stonehill's Luka Gjuraj (Jacksonville, Florida/Bishop Kenny) collected a turnover and played the ball on the right side of the box, sending it far left past the post unable to capitalize on an opportunity. The Tigers responded with three corners in three minutes with only one shot as a response. Stonehill concluded the first half with six shots, compared to two from Holy Family.
To kick off the second half, there was a lot of action as Stonehill held the ball for most of the first part of the half as Holy Family was chipping away trying to gain possession. Stonehill had its third corner kick in the 59th minute as Vercollone took a quick corner on the left side of the goal to find Brehm in the back post heading the ball to the back of the net.
After substitutions on both sides, the Skyhawks and Tigers each had free kicks to get the ball in the box, but neither were successful. Chieffo sent the fifth corner kick for the Skyhawks into the box but was cleared by the Tigers. Stonehill regained possession and Keegan Nutt (Easton, Massachusetts/Oliver Ames) sent the ball from the left side into the box past Doherty who tipped the ball to Degbor who found the back of the net as he was set up on the right side.
Stonehill will host Concordia (N.Y.) College for their next non-conference battle on Saturday, September 1 at 3:00 p.m. on Skyhawk Field.
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