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Mendham, N.J. native scored first collegiate goal and added an assist in a 2-0 week for Stonehill
EASTON, Mass. (November 4, 2014) – Stonehill College freshman back Matthew Gallo (Mendham, New Jersey/West Morris Mendham) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week for men's soccer, it was announced yesterday by the league office.
Gallo scored his first collegiate goal and recorded an assist last week while playing a key role in two Stonehill wins, as the Skyhawks clinched the fourth seed in the NE-10 Championship and a home game in the quarterfinal round.
Gallo has started 16 of 17 games as a freshman for Stonehill this fall, recording a goal and two assists. |
Stonehill opened its week on Tuesday by erasing a two-goal second half deficit and forcing overtime at Saint Michael's College before eventually posting a 4-3, double overtime victory. Gallo scored the game-tying goal in the 74th minute just 17 seconds after the Purple Knights had taken a 3-2 lead, giving junior Drew Montano (Avon, Connecticut./Avon) the chance to score the game-winner for the Skyhawks three minutes in the second overtime session.
Stonehill followed up its victory at Saint Michael's with a 3-2, comeback win in Saturday's Senior Day contest against Le Moyne, erasing a two-goal deficit for the second consecutive match. Gallo set up the game-winning goal in the 79th minute, connecting on a long pass from midfield with senior Tyler Brondyk (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield), who capped Stonehill's three-goal half with his second in under 15 minutes.
Gallo has made a significant impact as a freshman this season, starting 16 of 17 games at back and recording four points on a goal and two assists. The Mendham, New Jersey native registered his first career point, an assist, on freshman Trevor Torres' (Swansea, Massachusetts/La Salle Academy) game-winning goal in the 82nd minute of Stonehill's 3-2 win against Franklin Pierce University October 8th.
A 2014 graduate of West Morris Mendham High School in Mendham, New Jersey, Gallo was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for head coach Russ Raffay, serving as team captain as a junior and senior. He earned All-Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and All-Morris County honorable mention honors for a team that won the sectional championship as a junior in 2012, before collecting All-County first team and All-NJAC second team accolades as a senior in 2013.
Fourth-seeded Stonehill (11-5-1, 9-4 NE-10) is making its return to the NE-10 Championship tomorrow for the first time since 2011 and hosting a first round matchup for the first time since 1994, as the Skyhawks are set to take on fifth-seeded Merrimack College (12-3-2, 8-3-2 NE-10) in the quarterfinal round at 1 p.m.
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