Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team scored three goals in 14 minutes early in the second half to pull away from fourth-seeded Rhode Island College, 4-1, Wednesday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field and advance to the Little East Conference championship match for the fifth time in seven years.
At right: RIC keeper Chris Moura makes a desperate attempt to stop Timothy Jennison from scoring the first goal midway through the first half Wednesday. (Photo by Liam Murphy)
Undefeated in four LEC championship game appearances, Eastern (11-3-4) looks to become the first team in the 15-year history of the championship to win three straight championships when it hosts the title game Saturday at noon at Nevers Field. The Warriors will be opposed by the winner of Wednesday night's other semifinal between second-seeded Massachusetts Dartmouth and third-seeded Keene State College. 
Eastern, now 8-1-1 at home, defeated UMass Dartmouth in the 2012 and 2009 title games and Keene State in the 2007 and 2011 finals. Keene has won a record six LEC playoff titles, most recently with a 1-0 win over Rhode Island in 2010. UMass Dartmouth has reached the final in 2000, 2009 and 2012, losing each time.
Seniors Luke Capezzone (Colchester) and Mitch Power (Douglas, MA), sophomore Timothy Jennison (Coventry) and freshman Alejandro Tobon (West Hartford) all scored once for Eastern, with Power, Jennison and freshman Eric Fiore (Newtown) all being credited with assists.
With Eastern leading 1-0 at halftime, Capezzone's second goal of the season five minutes into the second half gave Eastern a two-goal cushion and opened the floodgates. Power followed with his team-leading ninth five minutes later, and Tobon's second of the year less than nine minutes after Power's pushed the lead to 4-0 with 20 minutes gone in the half.
Eastern had three legitimate chances to score and Rhode Island one before Jennison broke a scoreless tie midway through the first half. Rhode Island freshman keeper Christopher Moura (Rumford, RI) kept the match scoreless until the 23rd minute when he dove to his right three minutes into play to rob Capezzone on a header off a long serve from senior back Christopher Giustina (Enfield). Four minutes later, Rhode Island knocked the ball out of its box to the foot of Eastern senior midfielder Carl Stensland (Storrs), who volleyed a hard shot from 18 yards just wide. A minute before Jennison broke through, Eastern freshman back Emmanuel Caicedo (Manchester) made bid with a header off a free kick from freshman midfielder Nicholas Warren (Southbury), but Moura was equal to the task, reaching to get a hand on the ball and sending it wide of the post.
Eastern freshman keeper Greg Walton (Brunswick, ME) was called upon for his only save 11 minutes into the match when sophomore midfielder Camilo Estrada (Pawtucket, RI) worked a give-and-go with sophomore midfielder Tyler Pacheco (Tiverton, RI) and unloaded a shot right at the keeper from 12 yards.
On the first goal of the match, Power found Jennison at the near post on a cross from the left wing for his sixth goal of the season. Jennison then capitalized on a Rhode Island (8-6-5) miscue in the Anchormen third of the field. He gained possession on the left side and sent cross all the way through the box to an unmarked Capezzone at the far post. Capezzone one-timed it into the back of the net before Moura could move into position.
In the 55th minute, Jennison was taken down just outside the box and Power's free kick was a high blast that carried under the cross bar. Playing in his first match in seven weeks, Fiore set up Tobon's goal that made it 4-0 in the 64th minute. Fiore's cross from the right side was tapped in by Tobon at the far post.
Walton was called upon for only one save and did not allow a goal before giving way to freshman Curtis Barnes (Amherst, MA), who worked the final 15 minutes.
Eastern, which had not allowed a goal to a conference opponent at home this year prior to the match, had squeezed past Rhode Island on Power's only goal of the match with 17 seconds left when the teams met Oct. 19 at Nevers Field. The Anchormen qualified as the final seed of the playoffs with a 3-2 victory over Massachusetts Boston Saturday at home.
The four goals equal the second-most in a match this year and are the most by either team in this series since Eastern claimed a 4-0 road decision in 1993.
The win was the 99th against 31 losses and 16 ties for Eastern seventh-year head coach Greg DeVito.
