Men's Soccer Plays to 1-1 Draw Against NEC

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College and New England College played to a 1-1 draw on Friday afternoon in the season opener for both squads at Alumni Field.

After a scoreless first half, Nicholas Ghirardi put Mitchell on top with a goal in the 48th minute. The lead lasted less than two minutes as NEC's Michael Skarbelis netted the equalizer in the 50th. Both teams saw their goalies contribute clutch saves in the final moments of regulation, and neither side mustered a goal in the 20 minutes of extra time.

Early in the second half, Mitchell had possession in its offensive end when a NEC defender poked the ball away from Christian Urena on the right side. The ball found the foot of Ghirardi, who sidestepped a defender before unleashing a shot from the corner of the six-yard box that found the far-side netting.

Skarbelis answered just 1:54 later to tie the game at 1-1. Goalie Tenzin Khenrab got things started with a long boot from the top of his own 18-yard box. The ball carried nearly to the opposite box, where it skipped past a Mitchell defender and gave Skarbelis the chance to volley it home off the bounce.

Khenrab kept the game locked at 1-1 with a superb stop in the 85th minute. Mitchell newcomer Quinn Outerbridge made a quick move through two defenders to get a one-on-one look against the keeper. Khenrab charged on the play and made a sliding kick save to keep the Mariners off the board.

Mitchell goalie Seth Strader returned the favor in the 88th minute, diving to deny Panagiotis Galatas of the go-ahead goal. Galatas had a clean look from the right side from inside 10 yards, but Strader rushed out to cut off the angle and deflected the shot away.

In the first overtime, Strader nearly ended the game with a boot from his own end. With just over a minute to go in the stanza, NEC cleared away a Mitchell corner past the midfield stripe and pushed up to chase. Strader, who had come way out of goal, rocketed the ball back into Mitchell's offensive end and just wide of an untended goal.

Mitchell finished with a slight edge in shots (17-16) and an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks. Strader made two saves while Khenrab had six.

Mitchell (0-0-1 overall) will next play at Connecticut College on Tuesday, September 5 at 4 p.m. NEC (0-0-1 overall) returns to action at Plymouth State University on Sunday, September 3 at 4 p.m.