Men's Soccer Battles Back for Win in Home Opener
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's soccer
team twice overcame deficits to produce a 4-3 victory over Rivier
College on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the closing moments, junior Tommy Derosier came through with the game-winning goal to give the
Mariners (1-0-0 overall) a thrilling victory in their season
opener. Derosier, whose goal came in the 88th minute, was one of
four Mitchell players to find the back of the net in the contest.
Chris Nugent finished with two goals to lead Rivier (0-2-0
overall).
Rivier took an early lead thanks to an own goal in the eighth
minute. The Raiders played a ball into the box from the left side
which a Mitchell defender attempted to clear with a header but
ended up scoring on his own keeper.
Despite plenty of good looks in its offensive half, Mitchell came
up empty over the first 45 minutes and trailed 1-0 at the break.
Goalkeeper Matt St. Peter made seven saves in the first
half—including several from close range—to keep the
Raiders in front.
The Mariners finally broke through in the opening minutes of the
second stanza. After a Rivier player was whistled for a handball
inside the box, senior Jaime Serrano buried the ensuing penalty
kick to tie the game at 1-1 in the 46th minute. Junior Dustin Huguenin then put Mitchell on top 2-1 with a tally in the
50th minute, corralling a loose ball at the top of the box and
unleashing a blast into the right corner for his first goal with
the Mariners.
Rivier, despite playing a man down since a red card in the 39th
minute, refused to go quietly. Nugent netted both of his goals
within a two-minute span to quickly put the Raiders back in front.
His first goal came in the 54th minute after weaving through the
Mitchell defense and rocketing home a shot into the lower left
corner from 15 yards out. The second goal came on a penalty kick
after the Mariners were called for a push inside the box.
Finding themselves trailing by a goal once again, the Mariners kept
pushing the pace and pressuring the Rivier defense. Mitchell
created an opportunity in the 64th minute when senior John Burkart
fired a shot on goal that St. Peter was able to stop but not
handle. Junior Ricardo Mclean was there to clean up the rebound for
his first career goal and tied the score at 3-3.
The game-winning goal came during a frenzy in front of the net in
which St. Peter was knocked to the ground in a collision with a
Mitchell striker. The cross from the right side ended up finding
Derosier on the far side of the box, and he was left with an open
net to secure the go-ahead score.
St. Peter finished with 12 saves in the contest while junior Kevin Woodford made two for the Mariners. Mitchell held a 32-4 advantage
in shots and a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.
Mitchell returns to action at Bridgewater State College on
Wednesday, September 8 at 4 p.m.