Skyhawks tally 12 shots
EASTON, Mass. (September 26, 2017) – The Stonehill men's soccer team fell to Merrimack College, 1-0, in a Northeast-10 Conference battle Tuesday afternoon on Skyhawk Field.
Stonehill's (4-5-1, 1-4-0 NE10) tallied 12 shots in the contest, as Adam Branco (Naugatuck, Connecticut/Naugatuck) and Connor O'Brien (Schenectady, New York/Guilderland Central) each recorded three shots a piece. Senior goalkeeper Conor McDonough (Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Coyle and Cassidy) notched seven saves in net against the Warriors.
Merrimack's (7-1-1, 4-0-1 NE10) Mattia Lanzi tallied the lone goal in the game, while Aasmund Joedahl recorded the helper. Lucas Rezende registered six saves in the afternoon contest.
Merrimack got on board early in the game, as Stonehill recorded the first foul of the game and Lanzi struck the ball wide of the net at 4:07. The Warriors then kept the ball in their offensive third, for another 30 seconds, as Joedahl sent a cross to the left of Lanzi, finding him in front of the net with defenders covering him. Lanzi was able to push the ball trickling to the back of the net for a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of the game.
Stonehill followed up with a series of four shots and one corner kick in the 19th minute of the game, but the strikes went just wide of the net or saved by Rezende. As the Skyhawks tried to contain the Warriors to play in the midfield, Merrimack edged out Stonehill in the shot advantage at the end of the half, 7-6.
As play picked back up in the second half, Stonehill continued to put the ball in the box every time Merrimack cleared the attempts. McDonough recorded four saves in the second half, matching the number in the first frame. The Warriors were able to out match the Skyhawks once again, as they tallied 11 shots to Stonehill's six, holding on for a 1-0 victory.
Stonehill concludes the month of September with a NE10 contest against the College of Saint Rose on Saturday, September 30 on Skyhawk Field with a start time of 1:00 p.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
