Men's Soccer Shuts Out Newbury

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team picked up a 2-0 victory over Newbury College on Wednesday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Alumni Field.

Senior Taylor Surette netted the game-winning goal in the first half and also assisted on a score in the second to lead the Mariners (8-7-1 overall, 3-1-0 NECC). Classmate Frank Williams added the goal in the second stanza while goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani kept Newbury (3-12-1 overall, 1-4-0 NECC) off the scoreboard with six saves.

The Mariners took an early lead when Surette found the back of the net in the ninth minute. He played a give-and-go with junior Zack Rocheleau into the box on the right side and then found the top-left corner of the goal for his third tally of the season.

Newbury's best scoring chances of the half came in the 20th minute when a centering pass into the box went untouched and German Canales unleashed a rocket that was stopped by Sinani. Ethan Forrest took the rebound and fired another shot on goal, but Sinani quickly bounced back up to make a second stop, and the Mitchell defense cleared the ball away.

Mitchell led 1-0 at the break but quickly padded the margin when Williams netted his team-leading seventh goal of the season just 3:50 into the second half. Surette set up the goal with a pass from the Newbury end line that found Williams outside the left corner of the box. His shot to the far post snuck under the crossbar and put the Mariners on top 2-0.

The Nighthawks had a chance to get back in the game in the 72nd minute when Ricarfens Saintil chased down a long pass down the left side of the field and had a clear path to an open goal. However, Mitchell defender Jose Roman III was trailing the play and slid in to block Saintil's shot and keep Newbury scoreless.

Mitchell held a 16-12 edge in shots and an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks. Sinani earned his fifth shutout of the season and 11th of his career. Newbury goalkeeper Antonios Tran finished with six saves in the contest. 

Mitchell will next play at Becker College on Saturday, October 25 at 1:30 p.m. Newbury returns to action at home against Daniel Webster College on Wednesday, October 29 at 3 p.m.