CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University topped Mitchell College 3-0 in a rain soaked affair tonight in New England College Conference men's soccer action at Edward Field. The Lynx received a pair of tallies in the first half and one in the second to secure the win. The hosts improve to 8-5-4 on the year and 4-1-2 in NECC play while the Mariners slip to 9-8-1 overall and 4-2-0 in the conference
Lynx senior Jordan Santos (Middlebury, Conn.) put the Lynx on the board first as he settled a feed from the outside off the foot from junior Ryan Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and placed a shot from the top of the box into the lower left corner of the goal. The goal was the fourth marker of the season for the senior.
Lesley extended their lead to 2-0 as freshman Claudio Velez (Pittsfield, Mass.) put a bouncing ball into the back of the net with just thirteen-seconds left in the opening stanza. Velez's tally was the first of his collegiate career.
Mitchell had a couple of scoring opportunities early on in the second half as they had consecutive corner kicks in the 47th minute. After a header by senior Ryan Goodwin (Tunkhannock, Pa.) was deflected out of bounds by a Lesley defender, junior Zack Rocheleau (Winchendon, Mass.) settled the second corner kick and rifled a shot that sailed wide of the goal.
The Mariners nearly struck in the 63rd minute as senior Jordan Derosier (Bristol, Conn.) sent a blast from a step inside the box, but Lynx keeper Chase Donley (Elizabethtown, Mass.) was there to smother the attempt to keep the guests scoreless.
The Lynx added an insurance marker in the 85th minute as Richardson and Santos teamed up again for a score. Santos sent a pass to Richardson at the top of the box before the junior sent a shot off the post and into the back of the net to ice the match at 3-0 in favor of the Lynx.
Lesley outshot Mitchell by a 16-8 margin while holding a slim 3-2 edge on corner kicks.
Donley made two stops in his sixth shutout of the season while Mariners keeper Ramazan Sinani (Waterbury, Conn.) also made a pair of saves in the loss.
The Lynx will wrap up their regular season when they host Wheelock College on Sunday at 12:00p while the Mariners will conclude their regular season on Saturday as they play host to Regis College at 1:00p.