Men's Soccer Clipped by Conn College

Men's Soccer Clipped by Conn College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team dropped a 5-0 decision to Connecticut College on Tuesday afternoon in its home opener at Alumni Field.

The Camels scored a pair of goals in the first half and added three in the second, including a pair by Augie Djerdjaj. Goalkeepers AJ Marcucci and Chris MacKay each logged 45 minutes of work to combine for the shutout.

Conn College struck for the game's first goal in the 14th minute as Matt Butera and Tyler Hoadley connected on passes through the box to find Christian Murphy open on the left wing. Murphy drilled a shot inside the left post that beat a diving attempt from goalkeeper Seth Strader and gave the Camels the 1-0 advantage.

Manny Balbontin added the second goal in the waning minutes of the half. Hoadley once again supplied the assist, chipping a short pass from the right side of the box that Balbontin buried with a right-footed volley to the near post.

In the second half, the Camels needed just 2:08 to increase the margin to 3-0. Murphy served up a corner kick into the center of the box that Liam Donelan headed into the right corner for his first tally of the season.

The final two goals were supplied by Djerdjaj and came just over 5:30 minutes apart. The first came in the 63rd minute when he took a pass from Butera in the center of the box and settled the ball before calmly depositing it into the back of the net. The second marker came in the 69th minute courtesy of an assist by Aiden Scales.

Mitchell put two shots on goal for the game—both off the foot of Quinn Outerbridge—but each was turned away by Conn's keepers. Marcucci and MacKay each made one stop while Strader finished with nine saves in defeat.

Mitchell (0-2-0 overall) will next play at Worcester State University on Wednesday, September 12 at 7 p.m. Conn College (1-0-0 overall) returns to action at home against Middlebury College on Saturday, September 8 at 2 p.m.