Second Half Strike Leads Falcons Past AMCATS, 1-0

NEW HAVEN, Conn.— The Anna Maria College Men's Soccer team dropped 1-0 in their first conference game of the season to the Falcons of Albertus Magnus on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss the AMCATS drop to 0-2 overall and and 0-1 in conference play. With their fourth straight victory, the Falcons improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the league

Sophomore midfielder Justyn Broderick (Orange, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal late in the second half to lead the Albert Magnus men's soccer team past visiting, Anna Maria, 1-0. Over the final seven minutes, the Falcons kept possession of the ball and kept the AMCATS at bay to preserve the victory. During that stretch, strong midfield play and a stout effort by the backline helped the hosts earn the hard-fought conference victory. Albertus held a 20-10 advantage in shots and took six corners to the AMCATS three. The physical contest saw 33 fouls called and a trio of yellow cards handed out to the visitors.

Junior midfielder Alex Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) had a strong first half for the Falcons, creating a trio of scoring opportunities. Zapata had three uncontested looks at goal from inside the box during the opening 45 minutes and all three were stopped by AMCATS senior goaltender Elliot Kuzma (East Haven, Conn.).

The best scoring opportunity of the day for the visitors came in the 79th minute as a perfectly placed through ball sent freshman James Bowhile (Worcester, Mass.) in on a breakaway. Albertus sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Volta (Orange, Conn.) left his line and came charging at Bowhile who rushed his shot and sent it just wide of the target.

Earlier in the frame, Anna Maria had another bid to break the scoreless tie. Sophomore forward Jon Isperduli (Paxton, Mass.) collected a cross and had an open net because Volta came out to play ball. As Isperduli fired a shot, Albertus Magnus senior midfielder Austin Tomin (Hamden, Conn.) leaped in front of the net and kept the blast from crossing the goal line.

To ultimately break the tie, Broderick put the Falcons on the board with just seven minutes remaining in the contest after beating a defender and putting away a one on one shot from just inside the box.

NETMINDERS

Between the pipes, Volta made two saves to earn his first shutout of the season and his fourth win. On the opposite end, Kuzma turned aside a season-high 11 shots. 

Anna Maria returns to action on Monday, September 14 as they host Regis College for a non-conference matchup starting at 4:00 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for the contest.