RINDGE, N.H. – Fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University scored three times in a span of 13:04 early in the second half en route to a 3-0 win over No. 5 seed Bloomfield College in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Thursday night at Sodexo Field. The Penmen improve to 12-3-4 overall and advance to Saturday's second round, where it will face top-seeded and tournament host Franklin Pierce University in a 7:00 pm game.
After a scoreless first half, the Penmen got on the board 7:02 into the second half. Danny Hernandez (Salem, N.H.), standing on the left side of the box, send a crossing pass to the top of the box to Mike Adam (Ludlow, Mass.). Adam delivered a low 12-yarder that snuck inside the right post to give Southern New Hampshire a 1-0 lead.
SNHU would double its advantage 5:08 later. Ruben Resendes (Fall River, Mass.) collected a loose ball 35 yards out, took a touch, then delivered a 20-yarder into the upper right corner past diving Bloomfield keeper Steven Alonso.
Southern New Hampshire made it 3-0 with just under 25 minutes to play. Following a foul on Adam, Resendes delivered a left-to-right crossing pass to the far post. Jon Brockway (Lebanon, N.H.) got his head on the ball and knocked it in.
Joey Kapinos (Ludlow, Mass.) made two saves en route to the shutout, his fifth of the season and the team's 13th in 19 games. Bloomfield, which featured the No. 2 offense in Division II coming into the game, had not been shut out all season. Alonso made five saves for the Deacons as the Penmen generated a 13-7 shot advantage on the evening.
In the two teams' lone meeting this season, Franklin Pierce posted a 1-0 victory over the Penmen on October 26. That game was also played at Sodexo Field.
