Men's Soccer Falls to Elms in NECC First Round
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Fifth-seeded Elms College picked up a 2-0 victory over fourth-seeded Mitchell College in the first round of the 2016 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Championship on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Scott Labrie netted the game-winning goal in the opening half and Babba Jaden added insurance in the second as the Blazers improved to 5-13-1 on the season. Elms moves on to the semifinals and will play at top-seeded Daniel Webster College on Friday, November 4 at 2 p.m.
The Blazers got on the scoreboard in the 28th minute by converting a corner kick. Anthony Romei served the ball up to the near post and Labrie rushed in to volley it out of midair. His shot hit off the bottom of the crossbar before settling into the side netting for his third marker of the season.
Elms led 1-0 at the break and added the second goal in the 63rd minute. The Mariners had possession after a throw in, but pressure by Jaden forced a turnover to Donald Whittle just past the midfield stripe. Whittle took a few touches to advance the ball before slipping a pass to Jaden down the right side. Jaden took one touch to put the ball in the box before rocketing a shot into the top-right corner of the goal for his second tally of the season.
The two-goal cushion was more than enough as Mitchell failed to put a shot on goal. Elms finished with a 25-9 advantage in shots, with the duo of Whittle and Jaden combining for 13 on their own.
Mitchell goalkeeper Seth Strader finished with five saves in the contest. Elms keeper Tyler Graves picked up his third shutout of the year.
Mitchell ended the season with an overall record of 4-10-3.