Men win third consecutive match, remain competitive in CAC play

By COURTNEY RAMPEY

The Mary Washington men’s soccer team snagged their eighth win of the season at the Battlegrounds on Sunday against Kean University. This is the second win that the Eagles claimed this weekend after they defeated Wesley on Saturday 2-0.

The Cougars began the first half of the game with well-connected passes and were able to find the holes in the Eagles’ defense. They were constantly stepping to the ball, denying any opportunity for Mary Washington to play on the offense. In the first five minutes of the game, the Cougars ripped a shot that ricocheted straight down off of the cross bar. The ball landed near the goal line, but sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Black picked it up.

From there, UMW utilized small back passes in order to open up spaces and to maintain possession of the ball. This allowed the Eagles a chance to push up on offense where they managed three shots on goal but were unable to get the back of the net. Kean outshot UMW 8-3, but the half ended with a score of 0-0.

The Eagles came back in the second half with immediate possession of the ball, as well as shots and corner kicks on the Cougars’ defensive end. It was not until over ten minutes into the half that UMW junior Tommy Sangbouasy scored the first goal of the game off of one of his corner kicks. The ball crossed overhead of the defense and offenders and tipped in off of the back post of the goal.
This sparked a fire for the Eagles.

UMW followed up Sangbouasy’s goal with shots by senior Matt Poole, junior Nick Shepherd and sophomore Kevin Shavalay, one right after the other. Although the Eagles maintained a stronger pressure of offense, the Cougars were able to weave the ball back into UMW’s defensive end. With about 17 minutes left in the second half, Kean responded with a goal by junior back Dominick DeLello, who scored his first goal of the season.

For the remaining minutes of the half, the Eagles kept the ball in the Cougar’s defensive end, but were unable to find the back of the net. With one minute on the clock trickling away, the Cougar’s Michael Custidiano had a breakaway down the left-side field and shot the ball just wide of the right post. The second half ended in a tie of 1-1,which led the teams into a 10-minute overtime period.

The Eagles came onto the field during overtime with intent to conquer. Immediately, UMW dominated the possession of the ball and kept Kean’s goalkeeper John Londono on the alert. They ripped out five shots on goal-two saved by Londono-and prevented the ball from leaving the offensive end.

With 50 seconds from a second overtime period, Poole got possession from a Kean penalty outside the penalty box. He took a shot from the left side of the goal. The ball caught the back netting and ran across the inside of the goal, clinching the game for the Eagles, who are now have a three-game winning streak after losing five of the previous seven.

The Eagles increased their record to 8-5 overall and a 1-2 conference record. They look to add two more wins this week when they go on the road to Dickinson College on Wednesday, Oct. 10th and to Frostburg State on Saturday Oct. 13th.