MOUNT IDA HOLDS OFF LATE EMMANUEL CHARGE FOR 3-2 WIN

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Men's Soccer team scored twice in the final ten minutes of regulation, but freshman Juan Brenes' (Santo Domingo, D.R.) second goal of the season in the 84th minute served as the game-winner in a 3-2 victory for Mount Ida at Clemente Field on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs improve to 9-4-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), while the Saints fall to 5-9 and 4-3 in the GNAC. 

Mount Ida started things off quickly, as sophomore Cody Seel (Petersburg, N.Y.) snuck through on a breakaway just 67 seconds into the game, but Emmanuel senior goalkeeper James Withers (East Taunton, Mass.) charged off his line and made a kicksave to keep the Mustangs off the board.

The teams traded chances from the opening minutes to the 40th minute, until Mount Ida finally broke through off of a corner kick. Sophomore Rob McClafferty (Abington, Mass.) subbed into the game as the ball went out of play and found his place in the box for the service. Junior JT Yager (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) played the ball into the box and McClafferty headed it past Withers for his second goal of the season.

Saints senior captain David Field (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) nearly tied the scored less than three minutes later, but Mount Ida sophomore keeper William Planey (Dallas, Texas) made a stop to send the visitors to halftime with the lead.

Coming out of the break, the Mustangs wasted little time before doubling their lead in the 50th minute. Following an Emmanuel foul, freshman Alexi Flores (Central Falls, R.I.) sent a ball towards junior Shawn Bernardo (Peabody, Mass.), and Bernardo was able to beat Withers to extend the Mount Ida lead to 2-0. The goal was the second of the year for Bernardo, while Flores earned his third assist.

The Saints pushed the pace in the final 40 minutes of play, dominating the majority of the second half and outshooting the Mustangs 14-5 after Bernardo's goal. 

Emmanuel, however, could not find its way onto the scoreboard until the 81st minute, when junior Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.) was taken down in the box, earning a penalty kick. 

Field toed the mark, stepped up, and drove the ball into the right side of the net to cut the Mustangs lead in half. There was a minor scuffle following the goal that resulted in yellow cards to Field and Mount Ida's Tyler Grothusen (Ramsey, N.J.). 

The Saints immediately regained posession after the goal and earned another corner kick, but nothing came of the play and Mount Ida took over and pushed the counter attack. Emmanuel defenders came back to make a play, but an overzealous attempt at a tackle resulted in a foul and the Mustangs capitalized. 

Freshman Jordain Williams (Colchester, Vt.) played a long free kick into the box where Brenes volleyed the ball in the opposite direction past Withers for what would be the game-winning strike.

Despite regaining the two-goal lead, Mount Ida struggled to close things out and O'Donnell deflected a Field cross into the back of the goal with 57 seconds left on the clock for his fifth goal of the season.

The Saints stole posession off the ensuing restart, but were unable to put a ball on goal and the Mustangs hung on for the 3-2 victory.

Planey was forced to come out of the game in the 54th minute because of an apparent injury, and Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.) replaced him and earned the victory for Mount Ida. Ford, a sophomore, improves to 8-4-1 on the season. The two keepers combined for four saves in the 90 minute effort. 

On the other side, Withers made four saves, but saw his overall record drop to 5-7. 

The Saints outshot the Mustangs 19-15, including a 14-7 edge in the second half. Emmanuel also earned seven corner kicks to Mount Ida's three, but both teams scored off of a corner opportunity in the game.

There were 27 fouls called in the game, 15 on the Saints and 12 on the visitors. Mount Ida received three yellow cards, (Bernardo, Martins, Gothusen), and Field received a card for the hosts.

The Saints will travel to Nashua, N.H. for a battle with Rivier at 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 21. and the Mustangs, who jump into second place with the win, will host Norwich on the same day at 3:30 p.m.