Men's Soccer Outpaced by Mount Ida

NEWTON, Mass. – A pair of goals by junior Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) helped Mount Ida College open up their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) schedule by securing a 4-0 win over Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The Mustangs (3-2, 1-0 GNAC) improve to 6-0-1 all-time against Anna Maria, and collect a win in their GNAC opener for the first time since 2011.

Martinez scored in the 7th and 27th minute, wrapped around a goal by sophomore JT Yager (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), as the Mustangs outshot their opponents 16-7 in the first forty-five minutes and built a 3-0 halftime lead. He opened the attack by streaking in behind the AMCATS defense on a free kick played to him perfectly by sophomore Shawn Bernardo (Peabody, Mass.).

In the 14th minute, Yager cut in and picked off a ball that Anna Maria freshman goalie Patrick Thornberg (Wayland, Mass.) was trying to deliver, then beat Thornberg to slot home his first goal of the year.

Martinez completed his brace thirteen minutes later when he played give and go with sophomore Elias Mejia (Freehold, N.J.), who slipped a pass which sent his striker in free.

The AMCATS were more effective in the second half, outshooting Mount Ida 11-6, and all three of senior goalie Mat Pils' (Monroe, Conn.) saves came after halftime for the Mustangs.

A pair of freshmen teamed up to complete the scoring for Mount Ida. After a free kick was awarded at the edge of the area, Harold Nunuvero (Ellenville, N.Y.) fired through the wall and Jeremy Sayers (Portsmouth, N.H.) redirected the ball home to tally his first collegiate marker.

Thornberg made seven saves in defeat for Anna Maria, and falls to 1-3 on the year in goal.

Sophomore Christopher Mattioli (Sturbridge, Mass.) fired ten of Anna Maria's shots, including two of them on goal.

Pils recorded his third shutout of the season, and the Mustangs have still yet to play a game this year in which both teams score a goal.

Mount Ida senior defender Peter Sliva (Glens Falls, N.Y.) helped keep the shutout intact by making an important block, sprinting back as Mattioli tried to rifle a shot in from the right side.

Freshman Rob McClafferty (Abington, Mass.) was also impressive off the bench for the Mustangs, working hard up front to win the ball and firing three shots, one of them which forced a save out of Thornberg.

The Mustangs dip back into non-conference action next Thursday when they host Newbury at Alumni Field at 3:30 pm.

Anna Maria (1-4, 0-1 GNAC) will turnaround quickly and travel to Regis on Monday for a 4:30 pm non-conference game.