Men's Soccer Wins 2-1 at Western

DANBURY, Conn. — Mitchell College scored twice in the first half and held on for a 2-1 victory over Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday night in non-conference men's soccer action at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Seniors Nicholas Donahue and Frank Williams each netted goals in the first 40 minutes of the contest to propel the Mariners to a 2-0 halftime lead. Senior goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani was locked in to pick up his third shutout in four games until the Colonials were awarded a penalty kick in the 88th minute. Aislan Sartori converted to cut the Mitchell lead in half and made the final moments tense for head coach Dean Roberts and his squad.

Sinani recorded six saves on the day as the Mariners improved to 3-1-0 overall. It marked Mitchell's third straight win over Western in as many seasons.

Western earned the game's first two scoring chances in the sixth minute of play, but Sinani made both saves to keep the game scoreless. At the 19:04 mark, Donahue gave Mitchell the 1-0 lead off an assist from senior Jordan Derosier. The goal was Donahue's first of his Mitchell career.

With just over five minutes remaining in the half, Williams darted between two Western defenders to track down a rebounded shot in front of the goal, and he chipped the ball into the vacant net to give the visitors a 2-0 lead at intermission. The tally was his team-leading third goal of the season.

Western's first scoring chance of the second half came eight minutes into the period when Phil Dagostino took the ball around the left side of the Mitchell defense with only the keeper to beat. Dagostino drilled a low, hard shot that was headed for the right side of the Mitchell goal, but Sinani made a diving save to keep the Colonials off the scoreboard.

The score remained 2-0 deep into the second half, but with a little over two minutes remaining, a foul in the Mitchell box gave Western a penalty kick and the chance to narrow the deficit. Sartori stepped to the line and drilled a hard shot to the right side of the cage, making the score 2-1, which became the final margin of victory for Mitchell two minutes later when the final horn sounded.

For the game, Western held a 20-8 advantage in shots and also had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Austin Tierney finished with three saves in goal for the Colonials (1-3 overall).

Mitchell will next play at Johnson State College on Saturday, September 13 at 3:30 p.m.