Men's Soccer Takes Down Mitchell on the Road, 3-1, Tuesday Afternoon

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team used a strong second half to take down intrastate foe and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) newcomer Mitchell College (Mitchell) on the road Tuesday afternoon on Alumni Field in New London, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays improve to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in conference play, while the Mariners move to 2-2-2 overall and 2-2-1 in the GNAC.

KEY MOMENTS 

• USJ nearly opened the scoring in the third minute as freshman midfielder Matthew Dima (Oxford, Conn.) whipped in a corner to senior forward Dane Stephens (Linstead, Jamaica), but Stephens shot clipped the crossbar, keeping the match scoreless.
• Mitchell almost opened the scoring themselves in the seventh minute as a Mariners' corner found an open Noslin Antunez, but junior goalkeeper El Hadji Anne (Bronx, N.Y.) made a point-blank stop to keep the match scoreless.
• The Blue Jays hit the crossbar again in the 12th minute after another perfectly worked corner, but graduate student defender Eli Rodriguez (Hartford, Conn.) rifled a shot off the underside of the crossbar and it deflected away from goal.
• USJ generated the majority of the chances early on, but Mitchell took advantage of a long throw in, as the ball was cleared out but got played back into the box before Mcwill Adu Asare poked the ball passed Anne to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the 31-minute mark.
• Dima nearly equalized three minutes later, but his curling effort was well stopped by Mitchell's goalkeeper Dylan Kinsella.
• Graduate student midfielder Michael Torres (Hartford, Conn.) though would find the equalizer, as graduate student defender Elijah Rowland (Hartford, Conn.) passed it to Torres, who saw Kinsella off his line and trying to lob the netminder from nearly midfield. Kinsella would misjudge the ball, and saw it slip through his hands and into the goal, levelling the game at 1-1 after 35 minutes.
• Torres almost turned provider in the 41st minute, picking out a streaking Dima with a perfect ball towards the penalty spot, but Dima's header was well saved, keeping the match tied at 1-1 entering the halftime break.
• The second half started as a battle of the midfield, until Dima found space but saw hit shot be well saved in the 55th minute.
• USJ found the breakthrough goal at the 60:25 mark, as Juan Torres (Hartford, Conn.) won the ball back in the midfield, before unleashing Stephens with a perfect through ball. Stephens kept his cool, slotting the ball past the outrushing Kinsella to establish a 2-1 Blue Jays' lead.
• Dima nearly grew the advantage to 3-1 at the 71:11 mark, cutting inside to his right foot, but his curling effort was well saved by Kinsella.
• The Blue Jays continued to pepper the Mitchell goal, as Juan Torres embarked on a beautiful solo run, but his shot at the end of it would strike the crossbar, keeping the score at 2-1 entering the final 15 minutes.
• USJ continued to keep their foot on the gas, as sophomore defender Nicholas Simpson (Mansfield, Conn.) guided a header off a corner kick towards the upper right corner of the net, but a Mitchell defender made a great goal line save to keep the score at 2-1 with 10 minutes left to play.
• The Blue Jays put the game to bed in the 84th minute, as a failed Mitchell clearance inside their own box fell to sophomore forward Jason Moleiro (Rocky Hill, Conn.) who fired his shot into the goal to give USJ a 3-1 victory.

NOTES 

• Michael Torres netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
• Moleiro netted his fourth of the year while Stephens scored his third.
• Juan Torres and Rowland dished out their first assists of the season
• Anne tallied three saves to pick up the win and move to 4-0-1 on the year.
• USJ held a significant 38-9 lead in shots, including a 15-4 edge in shots on goal.
• The Blue Jays also held a 10-3 edge in corner kicks.
• With the result, the Blue Jays extended its lead in the all-time series to 3-0-0.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays remain on the road, heading south to intrastate conference rivals Albertus Magnus College on Saturday, September 23. Kickoff against the Falcons on Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn., is set for 7:00 p.m.

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