Eastern Connecticut State University

MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Senior midfielder Sebastian Kadlof netted two second-half penalty kicks against first-year goalkeeper Lasse Bartsh-Erforth, but a late penalty kick from senior forward Thomas Pelino allowed Emerson College to walk away from Rick McCarthy Field with a narrow 3-2 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University Men's Soccer, who suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday.

Kadlof's first of two penalty kicks came in the 65th minute, which also coincided with the first shot on goal of the match for the Warriors against Bartsh-Erforth, as the Lion defense held Eastern to just one shot in the first half. That shot was a header from first-year defender Ryan Checkowski on a free kick with the clock winding down to zero, while junior goalkeeper Jack Harmon made five big saves to keep things scoreless at the break.

Like against Mitchell College, first-year goalkeeper Marek Nardi took his turn in net for Eastern, allowing the first of two goals to sophomore forward Nick Mirogiannis in the second half. The first came on a throw-in from first-year defender Angel Nunez on the far-right side as Mirogiannis took the ball off the head of a Warrior defender, juggling it to himself, and connecting on the left side of the goal past Nardi.

14 minutes later, Kadlof would tie the game up after a foul in the box just moments after an Eastern corner kick gave the home team the equalizer in what quickly turned into a back-and-forth affair. Bartsh-Erforth came up with a big save for the Lions, robbing senior forward Patricio Vidales of a goal as the ball briefly came out of his hands on a diving stop, before Mirogiannis forced a defensive zone turnover, dancing around a few Warrior defenders and hitting the top right corner for the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute. 

Yet again, Eastern responded as a foul in the box from the Lion defense on a corner kick attempt gave Kadlof his second penalty kick attempt of the day, which he would connect on in the 82nd minute, in a match that looked headed for a tie. That would be until the 87th minute when a shot attempt from near the top of the 18-yard box went off the hands of a defender for Eastern, leading to an Emerson penalty kick with 3:42 left in the match.

After Pelino converted on that go-ahead shot for the Lions, Kadlof nearly sent the match to a 3-3 stalemate with under two minutes to go, rocketing a ball just over the crossbar, as the Warriors ultimately would fall in a 3-2 decision, falling to 0-2-0 in the all-time series against Emerson. This was the first matchup between the two teams at Rick McCarthy Field in program history. 

Eastern will now prepare to head on the road for the first time this season when they take on Farmingdale State College on Sunday at 1:00 PM. This will be the fourth consecutive year in which the teams have squared off against each other, with the all-time series knotted at 1-1-1 after the Warriors came out on top, 3-1, at home last year.