Men's Soccer Battles Back for Win in Home Opener

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team twice overcame deficits to produce a 4-3 victory over Rivier College on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.

With the score tied at 3-3 in the closing moments, junior Tommy Derosier came through with the game-winning goal to give the Mariners (1-0-0 overall) a thrilling victory in their season opener. Derosier, whose goal came in the 88th minute, was one of four Mitchell players to find the back of the net in the contest. Chris Nugent finished with two goals to lead Rivier (0-2-0 overall).

Rivier took an early lead thanks to an own goal in the eighth minute. The Raiders played a ball into the box from the left side which a Mitchell defender attempted to clear with a header but ended up scoring on his own keeper.

Despite plenty of good looks in its offensive half, Mitchell came up empty over the first 45 minutes and trailed 1-0 at the break. Goalkeeper Matt St. Peter made seven saves in the first half—including several from close range—to keep the Raiders in front.

The Mariners finally broke through in the opening minutes of the second stanza. After a Rivier player was whistled for a handball inside the box, senior Jaime Serrano buried the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 in the 46th minute. Junior Dustin Huguenin then put Mitchell on top 2-1  with a tally in the 50th minute, corralling a loose ball at the top of the box and unleashing a blast into the right corner for his first goal with the Mariners.

Rivier, despite playing a man down since a red card in the 39th minute, refused to go quietly. Nugent netted both of his goals within a two-minute span to quickly put the Raiders back in front. His first goal came in the 54th minute after weaving through the Mitchell defense and rocketing home a shot into the lower left corner from 15 yards out. The second goal came on a penalty kick after the Mariners were called for a push inside the box.

Finding themselves trailing by a goal once again, the Mariners kept pushing the pace and pressuring the Rivier defense. Mitchell created an opportunity in the 64th minute when senior John Burkart fired a shot on goal that St. Peter was able to stop but not handle. Junior Ricardo Mclean was there to clean up the rebound for his first career goal and tied the score at 3-3.

The game-winning goal came during a frenzy in front of the net in which St. Peter was knocked to the ground in a collision with a Mitchell striker. The cross from the right side ended up finding Derosier on the far side of the box, and he was left with an open net to secure the go-ahead score.

St. Peter finished with 12 saves in the contest while junior Kevin Woodford made two for the Mariners. Mitchell held a 32-4 advantage in shots and a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.

Mitchell returns to action at Bridgewater State College on Wednesday, September 8 at 4 p.m.