MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's soccer team pulled out an exciting non-conference victory Wednesday night over Becker College. With the win, the Colonels improve to 2-3-0 while the Hawks fall to 1-4-0.
The Colonels dominated time of possession early in the match, but neither team was able to string together quality touches over the first 30 minutes of the game. That all changed, however, as Brandon Rinaldi (Bethlehem, Conn.) drew a foul call just outside the box, setting himself up for a free kick in the 38th minute. The senior captain took the free chance and put it past the Hawk goalie's left side to put Curry up 1-0. The score would be the only tally of the half.
Entering the second frame, Becker came out ready to fight back. Less than nine minutes after the intermission, the Hawks netted the equalizer, as a pass from Haendel Louhis (Easton, Mass.) found its way to Isaiah McCaskill (Springfield, Mass.). McCaskill launched a shot on net, which was initially saved by Curry goalkeeper Paul DeMaio (North Andover, Mass.), but off his hands, the ball soared over his head and into the net. The tie would stand for the majority of the second half, but as the clock wound down, the Colonels managed to tack on another score. With just eight minutes remaining, Brandon Dickens (East Hartford, Conn.) made his way into the box, but after losing the ball on a questionable no-call, Ali Pungi (Kinshasa, Congo) squared up a shot which keeper Sam Majewski (Warren, Mass.) looked to have a read on, but he failed to secure the ball, which trickled in behind him. The Hawks put pressure on the Colonel defense over the final minutes, but failed to deal out any shots, as the hosts secured the win.
Both teams sported a player with five shots in Nolan Reimondo (Portland, Conn.) and McCaskill, but Curry boasted the edge as a team by a 23-10 margin. Majewski collected seven saves, but falls to 1-4-0 on the year. His counterpart DeMaio (2-3-0) tallied three saves. Curry walks away with a victory despite out-fouling the Hawks 20-11, thanks largely in part to a strong defensive effort.
The Colonels will get back on the field on Saturday, September 14, when they host the Eastern Nazarene Lions at 6:00 p.m. The Hawks return home to take on the University of St. Joseph (Conn.). The non-conference meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18.
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