MITCHELL BLANKS EMMANUEL IN NON-CONFERENCE BATTLE
Oct. 6, 2009
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men’s soccer team picked up a non-conference victory over visiting Emmanuel College on Tuesday afternoon by a 2-0 final. Junior Jaime Serrano (Clinton, Conn.) netted the game-winning goal in the first half and sophomore James Gleason (Old Lyme, Conn.) added an insurance goal late in the second half as the Mariners (3-6-0 overall) earned their second shutout of the season. Emmanuel dropped to 2-9-0 overall with the loss.
Mitchell put its first goal on the board in the 14th minute, when Serrano fired a shot off the goalpost that bounced right back out to him. He collected the rebound and calmly slipped a shot past goalkeeper Carlos Perez (Boca Raton, Fla.) for his third goal of the season. The Mariners took the one-goal advantage into the halftime intermission.
Emmanuel battled throughout the second half and had several good chances to tie the game. The Saints’ best opportunity came in the 61st minute, when senior Byron Glaus (Rumford, Maine) took a pass on the left side and then cut back past his defender. With an open look at the goal, he blasted a shot on net that was stopped by Mitchell’s sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Woodford (Clinton, Conn.).
Mitchell defended well throughout and put up the second goal in the 87th minute on a spectacular individual effort from Gleason. The Mariners cleared the ball out of their own defensive end to Gleason in the midfield, and he turned and threaded his way through the Saints defense for an open look from 20 yards out. He took his shot in full stride and buried it in the back of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Woodford finished the game with seven saves, six of which came in the second half to preserve the lead. The clean sheet was his first of the season. Perez recorded four saves for the Saints in just over 80 minutes of work.
Mitchell returns to conference play on Saturday, October 10 at home against Elms College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Emmanuel will next play at UMass-Dartmouth on Thursday, October 8 at 4 p.m.
Courtesy of Mitchell College Sports Information