Men's Soccer Falls Short in Season Opener vs. Stevens

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team opened the 2019 season with a 3-2 loss against 24th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Friday evening at Alumni Field.

The Ducks scored all three goals in the second half, including a pair by Jacob Curtis. The Mariners, who led 1-0 at halftime, tied the game at 2-2 in the 80th minute on a header by Daniel Hotaling. Less than three minutes later, Curtis responded with the go-ahead tally that put Stevens on top for good.

Goalkeeper Aedan Boriotti made a clutch save in the final minutes to keep the Ducks in front. Hotaling sent a volley from the top of the box to the top-left corner of the goal, and Boriotti timed his leap perfectly for a left-handed punch to keep the ball out of the net.

The lone goal of the first half came off the foot of Quinn Outerbridge on a feed from David Hernandez. Hernandez had the ball at the midfield stripe and slotted a pass up the field that Outerbridge tracked down inside the box. He then fired a right-footed shot into the left corner of the goal to put the Mariners on top 1-0 in the 32nd minute.

Stevens wasted little time in the second half, tying the game on a goal by Matthew Pinho in the 50th minute. Just over 16 minutes later, Curtis gave the Ducks their first lead of the season with his first tally of the day. Leo Musacchia served up a free kick that found Curtis open inside the box, and he tucked a looping header inside the far post to give Stevens the 2-1 advantage.

Mitchell needed less than five minutes to equalize, doing so on a throw-in from the far sideline by Nolan Clack. Julian Cortez flicked the throw through the box to Hotaling, who headed it home just inside the left post from six yards out.

The final goal came in the 83rd minute as Stevens earned a corner kick and converted. Stephen Johnson found Curtis at the far corner of the six-yard box for the go-ahead header.

Boriotti finished with a pair of saves in the contest while Mitchell keeper Seth Strader made four.

Mitchell (0-1-0 overall) will next play at Connecticut College on Tuesday, September 3 at 4 p.m. Stevens (1-0-0 overall) returns to action at home against Old Westbury on Sunday, September 1 at 1 p.m.