Box Score BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH JOSH TAYLOR
When and Where: September 3, 2016 – Manchester, N.H. (Larkin Field)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 5, Bloomfield College 0
Records: SNHU 1-0, Bloomfield 0-2
Junior Michael Rowley (Cooperstown, N.Y.) scored the season's first goal and then added an exclamation point at the end as the eighth-ranked Southern New Hampshire University men's soccer team recorded a 5-0 season-opening victory against Bloomfield College on Saturday at Larkin Field.
The Penmen needed just 2:19 to score the first goal of the 2016 season as graduate student Rayane Boukemia (Strasbourg, France) played a long ball over midfield from the right side that was run onto by Rowley, who took a touch to maneuver around a defender before sending a low shot from the right side of the top of the box that ricocheted off the inside of the left post and into the back of the net.
Southern New Hampshire doubled its lead in the 21st minute when grad student Yannis Becker (Sittensen, Germany) sent a perfect free kick from the right into the left side of the box, where classmate Tobias Esche (Bremen, Germany) finished the pretty play with a header past Bloomfield goalkeeper Matthew Weigner.
The Penmen made it 3-0 early in the 35th minute off some scrappy play in the box. Redshirt-junior Ryan Reynolds (Springfield, Mass.) was able to drop a short pass toward the goal from the right just as he was taken out by a defender, leaving freshman Michael Goncalves (Ludlow, Mass.) all alone to run onto the ball and pop it into the back of the net.
Becker widened the gap to four just over six minutes into the second half when he received a pass from the right off the foot of grad student Robert Brown (Brussels, Belgium) and sent a strike from the middle of the box into the right side.
Rowley struck for the second time midway through the 58th minute when he settled a pass from Brown with his chest and snuck a shot past Wilson Cisneros, who replaced Weigner in net at halftime and had attempted to come out and challenge Rowley.
Notes:
-Graduate goalkeeper Nick Zucco (Ludlow, Mass.) stopped all three shots he faced to run his personal shutout streak to 651:02, dating back to last season.
-The Penmen themselves have not allowed a goal in the last 714:52, which spans seven full matches.
-SNHU outshot Bloomfield, 14-4, including 10-2 in the second stanza.
-Southern New Hampshire begins the season 1-0 for the third straight year.
-Weigner finished with one save, while Cisneros made a pair of stops for the Bears.
Up Next:
The Penmen return to action Wednesday, Sept. 7 (7 p.m.) when they play host to Post University at Larkin for the Penmen Kickoff, which will feature food, swag, games and giveaways.
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.
