Posted: Oct 30, 2019
GAME OVERVIEW:
CAMBRIDGE, MA. -- The Lesley men's soccer team rode a strong defensive performance to a 1-0 win over the Eastern Nazarene Lions that clinched the top spot in the NECC Tournament for the Lynx. The win brings the Lynx to 8-9 overall on the season and 5-1 in the NECC, while the Lions fall to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- The night began with a ceremony celebrating the senior class for the Lynx. Patrick Corcoran, Shane Rockenbach, Gerry Chica, Andrew Medeiros, Beowulf Urban, Tiago Pacheco, Ben Heischuber, Max Fereria, and David Crutchfield were all honored before the game.
- The Lynx came out strong on defense, turning away every opportunity the Lions could find early. Eastern Nazarene got two shots off, one wide and one saved by Lynx goalie Patrick Corcoran.
- Andrew Medeiros set the Lynx up for all they would need on the night after drawing a foul in the 10th minute on Lions defender Mohamed Gouriche in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Jack Wadleigh took the shot and scored his eleventh goal of the season to put the Lynx up 1-0.
- Medeiros and Max Fereira put their bodies on the line all night, with Medeiros drawing several hard fouls and Fereria challenging every ball that came his way. They held up a strong front when David Crutchfield entered goal for the Lynx.
- The Lions never took the pressure off and actually outshot the Lynx eleven to one in the first half. Crutchfield and his defenders held strong and kept the Lions off the board.
- The second half opened up with hard fouls on Medeiros within seconds of each other, resulting in a yellow card for Eastern Nazarene's Leon Zaffonato. Medeiros was forced out of the game, but returned after being checked.
- With a lead, the Lynx focused on turning the Lions away as much as they could and did a great job of keeping the ball in the middle of the field and clearing it. Tiago Pacheco and Ben Heischuber did a great job of sending the Lions out of their zone.
- Charlie Swann had a few great opportunities for the Lions, but Crutchfield was able to make some acrobatic saves to keep the shutout alive.
- Crutchfield saved all seven shots on net and Corcoran picked up the huge win, despite the Lynx being outshot 24 to 5 on the night. Tim Eddings took the loss for the Lions, saving two of three shots.
- The win broke the tie atop the NECC between the Lynx and Lions and earned the Lynx the top seed in the upcoming NECC Tournament.
UP NEXT:
The Lynx earned a bye in the NECC Tournament with this win and will play the winner of the Elms vs. Mitchell match in the semifinals on Thursday November 7th at 8 PM.
