Men's Soccer Can't Make Up Deficit vs. Lesley

NEW LONDON, Conn. – A pair of first-half scores and a huge save in goal were the difference as Lesley University came away with a 2-1 victory at Mitchell College on Wednesday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference men's soccer tilt at Alumni Field.

Chris Anderson and Harrison Sidell each scored goals in the opening 18 minutes of the contest to spur the Lynx to a 2-0 advantage. Goalkeeper Chase Donley later made a save on a penalty kick in the second half to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard, which proved crucial after a late goal by Jose Roman III made it close.

Lesley improved to 7-9-0 overall and moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the NECC standings with Mitchell (7-8-1 overall) and Regis College at 4-3-0 in league action. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will host a game in the upcoming NECC Championship, which begins on November 4. 

In a game that was played in a steady downpour and windy conditions, Anderson put the Lynx in front in the 10th minute with his third marker of the season. He settled a ball played into the box from Wilton Zuo and quickly slipped it inside the right post for the 1-0 lead. Just over eight minutes later, Ryan Richardson and Zuo connected with Sidell to double the margin. Sidell's goal was his team-leading seventh of the year, and Lesley took the 2-0 lead into the halftime intermission.

Mitchell had a golden chance to cut into the deficit early in the second half as Andrew Storton was brought down inside the box. After the Mariners were awarded the penalty kick, Storton put his attempt to the upper-right of the cage, and Donley stoned him by sprawling to his left and punching the ball away.

The Mariners kept fighting until the end and found the back of the net with 1:53 remaining in the contest. Zack Rocheleau put a shot on goal from outside the box that Donley stopped but couldn't corral. The rebound kicked out to the right of the goal where Roman came charging in to pocket his first collegiate goal. However, Lesley didn't allow Mitchell another scoring opportunity and hung on to close out the win.

Donley finished with four saves against nine total shots and improved to 5-7-0 on the season. Mitchell goalkeeper Romer Ochoa also made four stops against 10 shots.  

Mitchell will close out the regular season at Daniel Webster College on Saturday, October 31 at 3 p.m. Lesley wraps up regular season play at home against Southern Vermont College on Saturday at 3 p.m.