Men's Soccer Cruises Past Mitchell

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team powered past visiting Mitchell College, 5-1, in a New England Collegiate Conference matchup at Leary Field Saturday evening.

The Blazers used little time to make their first strike against the Mariners. Less than three minutes into the contest, senior forward Joseph Coleman (Easthampton, Mass.) chipped a ball into the box to junior defender Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.), who went one-on-one with Mitchell senior goalie Ramazan Sinani (Waterbury, Conn.) and beat Sinani to his low left side, giving the Blazers a 1-0 lead.

In the 11^th minute of play, Elms freshman midfielder CJ Dabkowski (Bristol, Conn.) took a throw in and flicked a ball to O'Grady in the box, where he fired a shot past Sinani to the high left corner, pushing the Blazers advantage to 2-0. Just over seven minutes later, the Blazers delivered a decisive blow as Dakowski lofted a free kick into the box, where it was headed by sophomore midfielder Scott Labrie (Southampton, Mass.), and then junior midfielder Lorenzo Rolocut (Somers, Conn.) volleyed a one-timer into the upper corner. The Blazers maintained their 3-0 lead into halftime.

Elms maintained their momentum in the second half, adding a tally in the 57 minute. On a three-on-two advantage, O'Grady attacked the net, forcing Sinani to challenge the ball. As Sinani charged, O'Grady tucked a pass to the front of the goal, where freshman forward Bobby Zaino (Avon, Conn.) scored on a wide open goal, pushing the Elms lead to 4-0.

Mitchell cracked the scoreboard with 31:34 remaining in the contest as senior midfielder Taylor Surette (Chesire, Conn.) gathered a loose ball and placed a shot just beyond the reach of Blazers junior goalkeeper Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.), cutting the Elms edge to 4-1. The Blazers final tally came in the 88^th minute on another three-on-two advantage as O'Grady dished a ball to senior defender Thomas Rivers (Fayetteville, N.C.), who beat Sinani to the low left side, sending Elms to a 5-1 victory.

The Blazers edged the Mariners, 21-10, in shots during the contest. Kostka made a game-high five saves in the win, while Sinani stopped four shots for Mitchell.

With the win, Elms improved to 4-5-2 on the season, and 2-0 in the NECC, while Mitchell dropped to 4-6-1, and 1-1 overall. The Blazers will return to the field in a non-conference matchup against Amherst at Leary Field Tuesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

ELMS SOCCER