Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team doubled its season goal output at Thomas Nevers Field Tuesday, scoring once in each half in posting a 2-1 non-conference victory over Connecticut College.
At right: Eastern celebrates Tyler Jones' fourth game-winning goal in the last six games Tuesdsay against Connecticut College. (Photo by Liam Murphy)
Conn College (5-5-0) outshot Eastern, 17-6, but the Warriors (6-3-2) never trailed, taking a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute and breaking a tie in the 59th minute on first-year sophomore forward Tyler Jones' (Vernon) fourth game-winning goal in the last six games. Jones won the ball on the left side, beat two defenders, and slid a low, hard shot inside the far post for his team-leading five goal of the season.
Jones, who sat out last year after one season at Manchester Community College, also assisted on the first goal of the match when he relayed a crossing pass from freshman JD Stearns (Bolton) to freshman midfielder Adam Traxler (Newburyport, MA) at the far post. Traxler's third goal of the year came in traffic and beat a screened Conn College goalkeeper Austin DaCunha (Brookfield).
The Camels held a 7-3 advantage in shots in the first half and finally broke through for the tying goal when sophomore forward Christian Schmidt one-timed senior forward Kevin O'Brien's cross from the left side. O'Brien's pass carried through the box to an unmarked Schmidt, whose one-timer hit hard under the crossbar and bounced over the goal line.
Leading 1-0, Eastern had an opportunity to double the lead, but DaCunha raced off his line to cut down the angle and stuff Eastern junior midfielder Aldo Morin (West Hartford) less than three minutes after Traxler's goal.
Sophomore forward Ibrahim Mutala – Conn's most dangerous attacker in the first half – was sidelined with a leg injury throughout the second half. Mutala took three of his team's shots over the first 45 minutes, forcing Eastern sophomore keeper Greg Walton (Brunswick, ME) to come up with saves on two of them.
With his team trailing 1-0 four minutes into the second half, O'Brien found space at the top of the box and drove a low shot to the left post, but Walton timed his dive perfectly and covered it up for the best of his six saves on the day.
Conn had numerous opportunities when it played balls into the box, but Walton was active, coming out to grab dangerous crossing passes on a number of occasions. The Eastern defense of starters Gavin Neuendorf (Norwich), junior Cooper D'Ambrosio (Andover), sophomore Emmanuel Caicedo (Manchester) and freshman Carter Thorne-Kaunelis (Norfolk) stepped in to frustrate the Camels. The appeaerance was only the third this year for Thorne-Kaunelis.
The match was the first one not to end in a 1-0 decision this year for Eastern at home, where the Warriors had lost three of four by the identical score.
Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine in a 1 p.m. start in Little East Conference play Saturday.
