Men's Soccer Comes Up Short at Coast Guard

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College men's soccer team had its three-game winning streak snapped at Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday night, falling 3-0 in non-conference action at the CGA Track & Field Complex.

Alexander Lane scored a goal and tallied an assist to lead Coast Guard. The victory moved the Bears to 5-3-1 on the season while Mitchell dropped to 4-6-0.
 
The Bears got on the board first when Lane scored his first goal of the season in the 13th minute. The play started to develop from about 30 yards out when Lane fed a through ball to Matt Epperly, who gave the ball back with the defense converging. Lane wasted no time in getting the shot off and beat junior keeper Ramazan Sinani low to the far side.
 
Throughout the first half, Coast Guard controlled play but held just a 1-0 lead at the break. The lead was just one despite the Bears holding an 11-2 advantage in shots (7-1 on goal) and gaining three corner kicks compared to one for Mitchell.
 
Mitchell had a chance from about 28 yards out following a Coast Guard foul in the 33rd minute but junior Frank Williams' shot was taken care of by goalkeeper Richie Burns.
 
Coast Guard added some insurance in the second half when Lukas Benedetto put home his third goal to make it 2-0 in favor of the Bears. The goal came following a flurry of activity and a near miss of a goal when a Kyle Phillips header attempt went off the cross bar but not in. After the rebound came out to Coast Guard, Lane delivered a pass to Benedetto, who then buried it into the back of the net in the 73rd minute.
 
Epperly eliminated any remaining doubt in the 78th minute with his second goal of the season. After collecting a loose ball in the box he blasted a shot from about 12 yards out that Sinani had no chance on.
 
Burns had to make just two saves in the match to preserve his fifth shutout of the season as he improved his record to 5-2-1 on the year. Sinani made 10 stops for Mitchell in the loss as he fell to 4-6-0 on the season despite some acrobatic stops.
 
For the match, Coast Guard outshot Mitchell 24-3 (13-2 on goal) and held a convincing 13-1 edge in corners.

Mitchell returns to conference play at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday, October 5 at 3 p.m.