NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's soccer team scored twice in the first half to propel the Camels past No. 19 Franklin and Marshall 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament Second Round from Freeman Field on Sunday afternoon.. With the win, Conn improves to 12-2-6 on the year, while Franklin and Marshall end the year 10-3-7.
It was a slow start in the rematch from last year's second round matchup, as both squads were feeling each other out. Franklin and Marshall had the first chance to open the scoring, but Adam Green's shot rang off the crossbar at 11:50. Just over a minute later however, Conn found the icebreaker. Marco Perugini (Medway, Mass.) worked his way towards the F&M box, finding Gavin Vanden Berg (Lake Forest Park, Wash.), who flicked the ball into the path of Matt Scoffone (Thornton, Pa.). Scoffone was able to control the ball, firing past Nolan Booth to make it 1-0 at 13:03.
F&M was able to put two shots on target during the opening 45 minutes, but Peter Silvester (Smiths Parish, Bermuda) turned both aside. With the game looking like it was going to be 1-0 at the break, the Camels got a second goal at 38:57. Luke Cibelli (New York, N.Y.) found a streaking Elliot Spatz (Bellevue, Wash.) who stepped around a defender and beat Booth to make it 2-0 at the half.
Just over six minutes into the second half, Conn nearly pushed the lead to three, as Max Haberman (San Diego, Calif.) made a move past the defender, finding Sam Boehm (Lexington, Mass.) at the back post, who poked it just wide. Six minutes later however, the Camels found a third goal. Perugini blocked a pass in the box, with the ball falling right to Vanden Berg, who rifled home past Booth at 57:46.
Franklin and Marshall upped the pressure over the final thirty minutes, but Silvester and TJ Krongard (Montclair, N.J.) held firm between the sticks, to secure the 3-0 win for Conn.
F&M outshot Conn 15-9 overall, including 7-4 on shots on goal, while holding a 7-3 advantage on corner kicks.
Silvester got the start in goal, picking up the win, recording five saves in 84 minutes of action, before Krongard closed out the contest with two saves. Vanden Berg paced the Camels with three points on one goal and one assist. Scoffone and Spatz both notched a goal as well, with Cibelli and Perugini both adding one assist.
Booth got the start in goal, making one save in 81 minutes, before being replaced by Levi Kline who faced no shots.
Conn advances to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Reuben Burk. The Camels will take on Kenyon next weekend, with a time and location to be announced.
