CAMBRIDGE, Mass – Saturday evening at Edwards field served as a memorable night for the Lesley University Men's Soccer team. On senior night, the Lynx defeated Southern Vermont College 5-0 and secured the #2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming NECC Tournament. With the victory, Lesley closes the regular season with an overall record of 9-8-1 and 5-2 in conference play. The Mountaineers of Southern Vermont College drop to 5-14 overall and 3-4 in NECC play. Southern Vermont will be competing in the conference tournament this week, as the #4 seed.
The Lynx displayed dynamic, offensive play for ninety minutes, tallying nineteen shots, eleven corner kicks and five goals. Seniors Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.), Nuno Pereira (Sao Filipe, Cape Verde) and Niko Marcolini (Newbury, Mass) led the charge, each scoring for the Lynx. Vitta scored two goals in the match with his first coming at the five-minute-mark capitalizing on an excellent ball from teammate Andrew Medeiros (Bristol R.I.). Tiago Pacheco (Cranston, R.I.) followed with a goal of his own at the fourteenth-minute-mark giving the Lynx a 2-0 advantage early on. Minutes later, Gerry Chica (Wallingford, Conn) flashed excellent foot skills to set up Pereira for Lesley's third goal of the first half.
Vitta and the Lynx continued to press the Mountaineers throughout the second half. The senior was able to muscle his way between defenders for a header goal, made possible by Pacheco's accurate pass. At the sixty-second-minute, Marcolini proved that "two headers are better than one" as he added a header goal of his own with the ball coming off a corner kick from Vitta. Senior, goal-keeper James Webb (San Francisco, Calif.) blanked the Mountaineers earning his fourth win of this season improving his record to 4-4.
"A tremendous effort today by the boys from beginning to end. It was without a doubt our best and most consistent effort of the season and a great way for our seniors to out on Senior Night".
-Head Coach, Jim Costa
Next up for the Lynx is the NECC Tournament. The first round of competition is set to begin this Wednesday, November 1st. Having earned a bye, the Lynx will be back in action at home on Friday, November 3, competing in the NECC semifinals against an opponent TBA. Southern Vermont College will compete in the first round on Wednesday.
For more NECC Tournament information click here: http://www.neccathletics.com/sports/msoc/index