Men’s Soccer Closes Season with Loss to Blue Jays
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell (2-15-1, 2-12-0 GNAC) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Saint Joseph (Conn.) (11-4-3, 10-1-3 GNAC) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer team wrapped up their season with a 5-0 road loss to the University of Saint Joseph on Tuesday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the USJ Soccer Field.
Elis Sulollari led the Blue Jays with a pair of goals, both coming in the second half as USJ turned a two-goal halftime lead into a decisive win by five. After the two squads engaged in a defensive battle across the opening portion of the match, Justin Cardinale fired home his fourth goal of the season to give the Blue Jays the lead with 24 minutes gone by. Cardinale then set up Dane Stephens for his eighth goal of the fall three minutes later, pushing the USJ advantage to two.
The score remained locked at 2-0 the 61:26 mark when again Sulollari found the back of the net off an assist by Stephens, then Sulollari scored again less than a minute later to make it a 4-0 game. Damir Cirikovic capped the scoring in the 77th minute, sending the Blue Jays to their fourth straight win to end the regular season.
Freshman Gabe Ansani (Trumbull, Conn.) and Sebastian Duffy (Groton, Conn.) each registered shots on goal for the Mariners, who were outshot by the Blue Jays 29-6.
Senior Dylan Kinsella (Waterbury, Conn.) started in goal and recorded a pair of saves across the opening 45 minutes. Sophomore Jesse Jenkins (Windsor, Conn.) came on for the second half turned away six shots, giving him 89 for the season, good for the fifth most saves recorded during a single season of the Division III era of the program.
Will Slayton earned the win for USJ, turning in a clean sheet without recording a save. Aidan Peterson came on in relief of Slayton and made two saves in the final 16 minutes of action.
The Mariners finish the season with an overall record of 2-15-1, including a 2-12 mark in conference play. The Blue Jays wrap up the regular season with an 11-4-3 record, 10-1-3 in GNAC play, and will await seeding for the upcoming conference tournament.