CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University senior Herbin Berreondo (Brighton, Mass.) headed home a corner kick in the 85th minute to propel the Lynx to a 3-2 victory over Newbury College in First Round action of the New England Collegiate Conference Championship tonight at Edward Field. The third-seeded Lynx will travel to Nashua, N.H. on Friday to take on No. 2 seed Daniel Webster College in the NECC Semifinals. With the loss, the Nighthawks end their season at 5-13-1.
Berreondo leaped over a sea of Newbury defenders to get his head on a corner kick from fellow senior Jordan Santos (Middlebury, Conn.) for what was the game-winner at 84:31. The goal was Berreondo's second of the game – both coming on headers - as the six-foot, three-inch defender hooked up with a Santos free kick in the first half. Santos was credited with helpers on all three Lynx goals on the night.
Newbury opened up the scoring early as senior Milton Ricaurte (Barranquilla, Colombia) buried a penalty kick into the right side of the frame following a Lesley foul in the box.
The lead lasted a mere three minutes before Lynx freshman Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.) headed in a bouncing ball on the heels of a Santos corner kick. Junior Ryan Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.) headed the Santos cross into the middle of the box where Vitta streaked in and knocked the ball into the back of the net to even things at 1-1.
Berreondo's first tally of night in the 35th minute of play gave Lesley their first lead of the night. The senior, who finished the night with a season-high four shots, finished a Santos free kick as he popped a header over the outstretched reach of Newbury keeper Antonios Tran (Chelsea, Mass.) to give the Lynx a 2-1 edge into the break.
The two teams exchanged chances early on in the second stanza before Ricaurte struck again to tie the match at 2-2. The senior forward took a pass from freshman Ricarfens Saintil (Boston, Mass.), split two Lesley defenders, and rifled a right-footed blast past the diving Chase Donley (Elizabethtown, Pa.) for his second marker of the game.
Lesley handled the ball in the Newbury end of the field in the waning minute before Berreondo buried the game winner. His final tally came on the third Lesley corner kick opportunity in five minutes of play.
The Lynx outshot the Nighthawks by a 20-7 margin and held an 11-4 advantage in corner kick chances.
Tran was credited with five saves in the loss while Donley made five stops for the hosts in the win.
This marks the seventh straight season that the Lynx have advanced to the NECC Semifinals.