Sophomore Leo Zonta earned his first collegiate goal to help Monmouth Men’s Soccer tie with the Stony Brook Seawolves this past Saturday afternoon.
A quiet first half followed the 1 p.m. kickoff, with a hard-fought battle from both the Hawks and the Seawolves. Monmouth held a slight edge through the first 45 minutes, outshooting Stony Brook 6-5 and earning themselves four corner kick attempts. Four of the Hawks shots were on goal while the Seawolves only had two.
Monmouth put Heidar Hermannsson, Stony Brook’s sophomore goalkeeper, to work early. In just the third minute of the game, sophomore midfielder Jessy Bichler put a strong shot towards the bottom right side, forcing Hermannsson to make his first save of the game.
Tommy Domiano, sophomore midfielder for the Hawks, put more pressure on Heidar in the 22nd minute, forcing him to make the save at the bottom center of the goal. Senior defender Raul Garcia forced another save at the top of the goal in the 29th minute.
Monmouth’s sophomore goalkeeper Herman Johnsen was not tested until the 38th minute. He saved a shot from the Seawolves’ redshirt sophomore defender Nelson Reynoso on the top. Johnsen’s second save came five minutes later against graduate forward Olsen Aluc on the bottom left side.
Despite the strong looks from both sides, the game remained scoreless heading into half-time. Stony Brook evened out the play in the final 45, matching Monmouth’s 6 shots and earning the edge on corner kicks, 5-4.
The Hawks struck first in the 51st minute of the game with a goal from sophomore defender Leo Zonta. The goal was assisted by graduate midfielder Sean Cadigan. The goal served as Zonta’s first of his collegiate career.
Monmouth led the Seawolves for seven minutes until Finlay Oliver, a senior forward, beat Johnsen to earn his third goal of the season. Nelson was accredited with the assist.
Johnsen kept the score even at one with a save on Stony Brook’s Alex Fleury, a senior midfielder, on the bottom left side in the 75th minute.
The Hawks got two more strong attempts in before the clock ran out. Jasen Bottini, a junior forward, sent one just high of the goal in the 87th minute. A little over 60 seconds later, Eric Palei, a freshman defender, forced one last save from Hermannsson at the top of the goal.
The Seawolves pushed for two more corner kick attempts, however they could not capitalize, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Monmouth held their own against the Seawolves who had just one loss heading into the match. They held the overall offensive edge in the game, outshooting Stony Brook 12-11 and leading shots on goal 6-4.
The Hawks play their final CAA match-up this Saturday in Philadelphia against the Drexel Dragons. The 1 p.m. kickoff can be caught on FloSports.