Seahawks down Mariners, 9-0
NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior Ken Johnson (Colonia, N.J.) and sophomore Tony Lania (Concord, Mass.) each recorded a goal and an assist as the Salve Regina University men's soccer team blanked Mitchell College 9-0 in non-conference action Thursday afternoon at Reynolds Field.
The win runs the Seahawks (10-5-1) win streak to three games and is their fifth win in their last six contests. It also puts Salve Regina at 10 wins for the 10th time in schools history. Sophomores Dan Valentine (Waldwick, N.J.) and Derek Ponciano (Brooklyn, Conn.) combined to make 12 saves for the Mariners, who fell to 4-9 with the loss.
Johnson opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season at 13:02 after playing a long kick from senior goalkeeper Kurt Ginthwain (Tolland, Conn.), who was credited with an assist on the goal. Junior Billy Carroll (Babylon, N.Y.) made it 2-0 when he collected a rebound off a shot by freshman Michael Montas (Closter, N.J.) that hit the right post and poked it into an empty net at 26:16. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Ian Jentgen (Columbus, Ohio) sent a free kick into the box that Lania collected and shot inside the left post at 29:49. Sophomore Chris Knoth (East Islip, N.Y.) made it 4-0 when he took a pass from Johnson, broke down the left side and beat Valentine at 32:49. An own goal by Mitchell at 41:36 made it 5-0 at halftime. The Seahawks outshot the Mariners 23-1 in the first half.
A second Mitchell own goal off a Salve Regina corner kick pushed the lead to 6-0 at 50:16, and sophomore James Tollefson (Middletown, R.I.) made a nice run down the right side of the field and notched his fourth goal of the season to make it 7-0 at 51:50. Knoth's second goal of the game at 53:25 and another by freshman William Shaheen (Armonk, N.Y.) at 87:00 capped the scoring.
The Seahawks held a 17-5 edge in shots in the second half, bringing the final total to 40-6 in favor of the home team. Ginthwain did not record a save in 75:31 of action before replaced by freshman Brian Murphy (North Kingston, R.I.), who finished the contest with two saves.
"Midweek games late in the season like this are tough in that our players are in class until 3:30 or 3:45 p.m., and with the earlier kick-off times due to daylight, we struggle to have everyone available at the start of the match," said Seahawk head coach Craig O'Rourke II, whose team reached 10 wins for the second-consecutive season. "Despite this fact, I thought several of the younger players, like Michael Montas, stepped their game way up today to give us the boost that we needed. And I really thought that Tony Lania did very well for us in the middle today - when he brought it down and kept it simple, we were at our best. Now our attentions turn back to the conference and the two HUGE games that we have coming up with Eastern Nazarene and Gordon."
The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they host Eastern Nazarene at 2:30 at Gaudet Field. Prior to the contest, Salve Regina will honor its lone senior, Ginthwain. Mitchell plays Daniel Webster on its Senior Day Saturday at 2 p.m.
