Men's Soccer Beats Newbury, Clinches Top Spot in NECC

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 5-1 victory over Newbury College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.

Mitchell's win clinched a share of first place in the NECC standings, as well as the top seed in the upcoming 2017 NECC Championship. The Mariners (6-1-0 NECC) receive a first-round bye and will host a semifinals game on Friday, November 3. Newbury (2-5-0 NECC) has also qualified for the six-team tournament and will play in the opening round on Wednesday, November 1. All match-ups and game times will be announced by the league later today.

Andrew Storton scored a pair of goals to lead the Mariners to their third straight win. William Ferguson, Zavier Veliz and Jose Roman III also found the back of the net for Mitchell, while Stanley Elie scored the lone goal for the Nighthawks.

Mitchell scored its first goal early in the contest when Yianni Longinidis slipped a pass into the box for Christian Urena, who drew a penalty kick when he was tackled from behind. Storton tucked the penalty shot into the right corner for the 1-0 advantage just 2:13 into the game.

The Mariners added three goals in the final eight minutes of the half to lead 4-0 at the break. Ferguson scored off a tough angle on a corner kick served up by James Shea in the 38th minute, and Veliz volleyed home a throw in from TJ Condon in the 40th. Roman's goal came in the 41st minute when he cleaned up a failed clear attempt that deflected off a teammate.

Storton's second marker came in the 58th minute off a feed from Santiago Manrique and extended the lead to 5-0. The goal brought his season total to a team-high nine and his career total to 20.

Elie put the Nighthawks on the scoreboard in the 76th minute on a rip from straight on and 25 yards out. The blast found the top-left corner and gave Elie his first collegiate goal.

Mitchell goalkeeper Seth Strader finished with five saves in the victory. Casey Cisero and Jarrod Smith split time in goal for Newbury and each recorded a pair of saves.

This season marks the third time in the 10-year history of the conference that the Mariners have finished in first place in the regular season standings (2013, 2008). It also marks the second time in program history that Mitchell has earned the top seed in the NECC Championship (2008).