Monmouth University men’s soccer cruised past Seton Hall University by a score of four goals to one at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn Tuesday night, improving their record this season to 4-3-1, while the visitors’ dropped to 0-5-1.
“We finished our chances tonight, so I was really happy about that. In soccer, anytime you get four goals, that’s a successful night,” said Head Coach Robert McCourt after the win.
Just fifteen minutes after kickoff, redshirt senior John Egan found junior midfielder Colin Stripling with his back to goal just inside the box. Stripling turned to goal and volleyed the ball into the far corner of the net giving MU the lead.
“The first one [goal] really was a special one,” said Stripling. “I liked it because it just opened the gates for us [and] calmed the team down a little bit.”
Near the half-hour mark, freshman defender Zachary Pereira found some space down the right flank and served a hard cross into the box. The ball found the head of junior midfielder Miguel Alves, who flicked it into the top corner of the far post, leaving Seton Hall goalkeeper Julian Spindler with no chance. The goal put the Hawks in the driver’s seat, and they lead 2-0 as the half-time break approached.
However, it wasn’t long before the visitors pegged one pack in the 39th minute. Seton Hall’s Andres Arcila played the ball down the left-hand side to sophomore defender John Philbin, who brought it down to the touchline who fired it low and hard into the area to Arcila, who tapped it home with ease.
In the 60th minute, the Hawks restored their two goal lead. Senior defender and captain David Acuna Camacho sent a long free-kick into the box that was headed on by Stripling and deposited into the back of the net by senior defender Dan Pizzimenti.
Seton Hall freshman striker Lorant Lettner received the ball in the box, turned, and shot from fairly close range, but an off-balance junior goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky was able to make the save. Klenofsky had six saves over the course of the ninety minutes.
Minutes later MU had a free-kick near the right corner of the box.
Senior defender Derek Luke swung the ball into the area, and Stripling headed it home at the near post with authority, putting the nail in the coffin.
“Stripling has been fantastic in terms of getting in good positions,” said McCourt. “We kept telling him that his chances were going to come, and he scored two tonight.”
After playing four games in a very short space of time, fatigue was an underlying factor throughout the match, but that didn’t stop the Hawks from triumphing by a commanding score of 4-1.
“It was good because we just played a lot of games and it was a grind,” said Stripling. “It was a long stretch of just being focused, being committed, and putting in practice.”
The Hawks played Canisius up in Buffalo, New York this past Saturday where they opened up Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play for the season with a 2-0 win, bumping their overall record up to 5-3-1 and starting their MAAC record off strong (1-0-0).
Stripling was on the scoresheet once again, along with junior forward Dave Nigro. After Stripling’s productive week, the midfielder was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week along with being named as the MAAC Player of the Week.
The Hawks will now turn their attention to tonight, where they take on the Iona Gaels at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn at 7 p.m. on ESPN 3.
PHOTO COURTESY of monmouth athletics
