Mitchell Hangs On for 2-1 Victory Over Emmanuel

NEW LONDON, Conn – Mitchell College (2-1-1 GNAC) was able to hang on to a 2-1 GNAC victory over Emmanuel College (0-3-1 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. A two-goal halftime cushion was enough for the 10-man Mariners to hold off a relentless 2^nd half Saints offense.

The Mariners would open the scoring via penalty kick in the 28^th minute. Mcwill Adu Asare (East Hartford, Conn.) flicked the ball between two Saints defenders and was taken down in the penalty area by Adrian Pena (Simi Valley, Calif). Nick Ghirardi (East Lyme, Conn.) stepped up to the spot and found the bottom right corner for his third goal of the season, putting the Mariners ahead.

The Mariners would add to the scoring six minutes later when a ball from Flavio Alvarado (East Hartford, Conn.) found Gianmarco Delacruz (New London, Conn.) on the right side of the penalty area. Delacruz cut back on to his left foot and fired a shot near post to double the Mitchell College lead. It was Delacruz's third goal of the season.

Down 2-0, the Saints came out in the second half looking for an early goal. Just four minutes into the second half, Emmanuel defender Ryan Ragosta (Lincoln, R.I.) would send a ball behind the Mariners' defense. Goalkeeper Jesse Jenkins (Windsor, Conn.) came off his line attempting to beat the Emmanuel attacker to the ball, but arrived late and committed a foul. After a lengthy discussion between officials, it was determined that Emmanuel was through on goal and Jenkins was given a red card.

The Saints wasted no time scoring on 10-man Mitchell. First-year midfielder Cam Naples (New Britain, Conn.) took advantage of a Mariners miscue, taking the ball and quickly pushing it forward to Joey Soucy (Attleboro, Mass.). Soucy dribbled past the Mitchell goalkeeper and found the back of the net for his second goal of the season, bringing the Saints within one.

Emmanuel continued to look for an equalizer throughout the remainder of the second half, putting heavy pressure on an undermanned Mariners team with 16 shots in the final 45 minutes of play. The Saints would have one last chance in the final moments of the match when Ryan McKinney (North Reading, Mass.) was inches away from tying the match, hitting the crossbar seconds before time expired.

Emmanuel returns to GNAC action on Tuesday, September 19th at 6 p.m. when they head on the road to face St. Joseph's College (ME). Mitchell continues GNAC play against the University of St. Joseph (CT) on Tuesday, September 19^th at 4 p.m. in New London.