NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's soccer team continued their strong play, taking down visiting Colby 3-0 on Saturday from Freeman Field. With the win, Conn improves to 9-0-3 overall and 4-0-3 in NESCAC play, while Colby falls to 4-5-2 and 1-4-2 in conference play.
It was a slow opening 20 minutes, as the rain came down on Freeman Field. Conn (9-0-3, 4-0-3) tallied the first four shots, between the 21st and 24th minutes, but were unable to open the scoring. Colby (4-5-2, 1-4-2) responded with two shots of their own, but Peter Silvester (Smiths Parish, Bermuda) turned both efforts away. The Camels finished the half with the last four shots, but were unable to break through, as the game was scoreless at the break.
The teams traded a shot each in the first five minutes of the second half, but it was Conn that opened the scoring at 52:53. Jake Creus (Rye, N.Y.) finessed the ball into the bottom corner, giving the Camels a 1-0 lead. Just a minute and a half later, after Gavin Mpiana's (Cape Town, South Africa) shot was blocked, the ball fell to Creus, who laid it across goal to Matt Scoffone (Thornton, Pa.), tapping it into the empty net and doubling the lead.
The Mules answered with two shots, but again Silvester was strong between the sticks, keeping Colby at bay. With just over 15 minutes to play, Elliot Spatz (Bellevue, Wash.) played a pass across goal, into the path of Dylan Zane (Montego Bay, Jamaica) who tapped the ball into the cage to give the Camels the 3-0 advantage. Conn had a few more chances to extend the lead, but did not find the goal, as the Camels came away with the 3-0 victory.
Conn outshot Colby 20-6 overall, and 9-4 on shots on goal, while holding a 7-3 advantage on corner kicks.
Silvester earned the win between the sticks, making four saves in 82 minutes of action, before being replaced by Casey Shea (Haworth, N.J.) for the final eight minutes. Creus led the Conn attack with three points on one goal and one assist, while Scoffone and Zane both tallied a goal, while Spatz added an assist.
Brendan McCarthy got the start in goal, and made six saves on nine shots. Myles Culley paced the Colby offense, tallying two shots, with both being on target.
The Camels close out their season-high five-game home stand, as Conn hosts No. 3 Middlebury in a NESCAC showdown tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at Freeman Field.
