CHICOPEE, Mass. – Lesley University junior Nuno Pereira (Sao Filipe, Fogo, Cape Verde) netted both Lesley University goals – one in each half – to lift the Lynx over host Elms College in a New England Collegiate Conference matchup today at Leary Field. The win evens the Lynx conference record at 2-2-0 while they jump to 3-10-1 overall while the loss drops the Blazers to 2-12-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in the NECC.
After ten minutes of back-and-forth play, the Lynx cracked the scoreboard in the 11th minute as senior Wilton Zuo (Dorchester, Mass.) raced up the left sideline, worked past the Blazers defense, and delivered a pass to the front of the Blazers net for a finish Pereira, staking Lesley to a 1-0 lead.
At the 25:21 mark of the first half, the Blazers pulled even as junior C.J. Dabkowski (Bristol, Conn.) kept a loose ball in the Lynx zone and chipped a pass towards the net finding classmate Donald Whittle (Somers, Conn.), who fired a close range shot to the far back post, tying the score at 1-1. The score remained intact through the remainder of the opening frame.
The difference maker came in the 69th minute when Lesley junior Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.) fought for a loose ball near the corner flag, and then played a pass to the corner of the box where Pereira curled a shot beyond the reach of Elms freshman goalkeeper Connor Curtin (Belchertown, Mass.) to hand the Lynx the 2-1 advantage. Pereira has a team-leading seven goals on the season.
Lesley junior James Webb (San Francisco, Calif.) made a pair of stops late to preserve the 2-1 scoreboard and earn the win.
The Blazers outshot the Lynx, 19-11, during the contest. Curtin stopped four shots for the Blazers, while Webb made a match-high nine saves for Lesley in the win.
Elms will look to move back into the win column with an NECC road trip to Southern Vermont Wednesday for a 3:00 p.m. match. Lesley travels to Becker for a conference tilt Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.
Release courtesy Elms College Sports Information