Story courtesy of Rob Palardy, Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Information
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Lesley University (15-3-2, 5-1-1 NECC) men's soccer team defeated Newbury College (6-14, 5-2 NECC) 1-0 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Semifinals to reach to the championship match for the second consecutive season. Ari Sinanis (GUILFORD, Conn./Guilford) scored the match's lone goal to lift the Lynx to victory.
Sinanis found the back of the net in the 51st minute of the match after a left-to-right cross by Jimmy Paulsen (MONROE, Conn./Masuk). Sinanis struck the ball to the right corner of the net past Nighthawks keeper William McNally (GRAFTON, Mass./Marian).
Despite giving up the lone goal of the match in the second, McNally was stellar in net as the sophomore tallied 11 saves. McNally was under heavy fire for much of the game as the Lynx took 24 total shots.
Early in the first half, Newbury looked to get on the board first after a series of shots by sophomore Andi Maska (ROSLINDALE, Mass./English) and Shaundize Moosavizadeh (WINCHESTER, Mass./Winchester) were either saved by the keeper Zachary Almeida-Beers (REHOBOTH, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) or blocked by the defense.
Almeida-Beers made two saves in the match without giving up a goal, his seventh shutout of the season.
There were two yellow cards given out in the match at 15:25 in the first half. One was given to Lesley's Yair Correa (PAWTUCKET, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) and the other to Alex Chappell (EAST HADDAM, Conn./Nathan Hale-Ray).
Lesley will now move on to play Daniel Webster College on Sunday, November 8 at 1:00 pm in Nashua, New Hampshire.