NORTH
ANDOVER, Mass. – No. 14 Merrimack College made a
goal midway through the first half stand up as it blanked No. 2
Southern New Hampshire University 1-0 in Northeast-10 men's
soccer Wednesday night at Warrior Field. The Warriors
improved to 7-1 and 3-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen suffered
their first defeat of the season and are now 7-1-1 and 3-1-1 in the
league.
Merrimack got on
the board in the 24th minute. Ben Paradis,
standing in the middle of the box, played a ball to his right to
Robbie Sabadoz, who beat SNHU keeper Joey Kapinos
(Ludlow, Mass.) low and inside the far left post. It broke up
a string of 662:05 of scoreless soccer posted by the Penmen, as
SNHU had not allowed a goal since September 4 against C.W.
Post. It also marked the first time all season the Penmen
trailed.
Southern New
Hampshire carried play in the second half, outshooting Merrimack
17-5 and generating nine corner kicks to one for the hosts.
Midway through the frame a header off a corner kick by Jon Brockway (Lebanon, N.H.) was stopped by Merrimack keeper
Kevin Joyce. Moments later Danny Hernandez
(Salem, N.H.) got a ball past the defense off another corner but
couldn't get a strong foot on it and Baker scooped it
up. With just over 10 minutes to go, Brockway had another
header that trickled just wide of the far left post.
Kapinos made
five saves for Southern New Hampshire while Kevin Joyce turned
aside 13 shots for the Warriors. SNHU outshot Merrimack 22-10
on the evening.
Southern New
Hampshire returns to action Saturday when it hosts Assumption
College in a 7:00 contest at Larkin Field as part of SNHU's
Alumni Weekend festivities.
