Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Sam Hoffman scored on a header 18 minutes into the match and Mateo Zabala made it stand up with seven saves as the Trinity College men's soccer team defeated Eastern Connecticut State University for the fifth straight time, 1-0, Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference match at Thomas Nevers Field.
Eastern (5-8-1) outshot Trinity (7-5-2) 13-10, but could not get one past Zabala as Trinity improved to 5-1-2 in its last eight matches since a 2-4-0 start. Eastern was coming off a 2-1 Little East Conference home victory over UMass Boston, ranked No. 4 nationally.
The only goal of the match came with 18:19 gone. After Eastern freshman midfielder
Dimi Dalardha (Hampton) cleared a Trinity corner kick out of bounds, a throw-in set up the only goal. After Fernando Cuervo-Torello's throw-in, Tobias Gimand took several touches just outside the box and dropped the ball back to Cuervo-Torello, whose long left-footed serve landed perfectly on the head of Hoffman at the far left post. Hoffman, who had beaten one defender, leaped and knocked the ball inside the far corner, just beyond the reach of Eastern sophomore goalkeeper
Ryan Murphy (Cromwell).
Murphy's only save kept the match scoreless ten minutes into play when he drove to his left to punch out Oliver Murphy's free kick from nearly 25 yards out.
The Warriors had nine shots in the first half, their best chance coming seven minutes into play when sophomore forward Justin Jensen (Wethersfield) ran down a long through-ball and a one-on-one situation with Zabala, but the keeper made the save at the near post from close range.
Other than Jensen, Eastern junior forward Xavier Doran (Hebron) had Eastern's best opportunities. Doran accumulate six shots, forcing Zabala to keep two of them out of the back of the net. Working a give-and-go with freshman forward Griffin Luczek (Lee, NH), Doran knocked a one-timer off a cross at the keeper midway through the second half. Later in the half, Doran had a header off a corner kick by Jensen travel just wide of the left post. Doran's best opportunity came with 4:30 left when Dalardha and sophomore forward Justin Grant (Cromwell) teamed to make a crossing pass from the left to the middle of the box to Doran. With his back to the cage, Doran turned and let go a shot which sailed inches above the crossbar.
Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine Saturday at 1 p.m. n a Little East Conference match.
