Box Score NEW LONDON, Conn.—Junior Austin DaCunha (Brookfield, Conn.) collected three of his four saves in the second half to lead the Connecticut College men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory against Eastern Connecticut State University on Freeman Field Wednesday in New London.
DaCunha was protected by the Camel defensive foursome consisting of senior Ajami Gikandi (Princeton, N.J.), sophomores Brooks Clark (Boxford, Mass.) and Nate Summers (Westfield, Mass.) along with freshman Tim Hilbrunner (Groton, Mass.) who all contributed in the blanking.
The Camels improved their record to 7-2-1 with the triumph while the streaking Warriors (9-2-1) had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Head Coach Kenny Murphy's Camels are undefeated in their last six games.
The Camels out-shot the Warriors 10-to-2 in the opening half but neither side could get on the board.
But in the 54th minute of action, freshmen Chris Lockwood (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Mark Leon (Wrentham, Mass.) worked together to put the hosts on top for good.
Leon dribbled into the right side of the box and made a nice drop pass for Lockwood, who hooked a 10 yard blast inside the far post to bring the crowd of 250 fans to their feet. It was Lockwood's third goal of the season and Leon's team leading 12th point of the year.
DaCunha was impressive in his fourth shutout of the season for the Camels. With 9:40 to play, the Warriors nearly tied the game up with a set piece. Sophomore Xavier Doran (Hebron, Conn.) buried a low header into the grass surface with some velocity behind it but DaCunha was able to make a diving stab to protect the one goal lead.
"We've got a really good thing going right now," DaCunha said after the win. "This is a cohesive group of guys from top to bottom; everybody is working for each other. I can't say enough about the play of our back four. Everybody is just working together to get better every single day.
Connecticut College senior Colin Patch (Providence, R.I.) had another big game for the Camels and was pleased with the team's efforts.
"We got our losses out of the way in the early season and it feels like momentum is with us," Patch said. "The last six games we're just playing our game. I thought the freshman did a good job for us as well."
Eastern Connecticut State University rookie keeper Ryan Murphy (Cromwell, Conn.) finished with four saves in the setback.
The Warriors visit UMass-Boston Saturday for a 5:00 p.m. game at Boston College High School.
The Camels will host Bates College here in New London Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. NESCAC tilt.
