Men's Soccer Falls Short in Overtime

WESTON, Mass. - Freshman Ethan Sweet (Claremont, N.H.) scored 3:34 into the first overtime session on Thursday night as the Regis (Mass.) men's soccer team was dealt a crushing 2-1 defeat to Mount Ida College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Regis Stadium.

The loss was the first GNAC loss for the Pride, which falls to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Mustangs, meanwhile, picked up their first GNAC win of the season, improving to 1-1 in the GNAC and 4-3 overall.

The Mustangs took a 1-0 lead into halftime after freshman Gabe Olsen (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) tallied his first collegiate goal in the 40th minute. After a Michael Porcello (Abington, Mass.) shot was stopped from in close by Regis goalkeeper Jesse Bonilla (Ramona, Calif.), Olsen jumped on the rebound, sliding it into the open cage to put his team in front.

The Pride opened the second half firing on all cylinders. Looking for the equalizer, junior Derek Triana had a glorious scoring chance just under five minutes into the half. After a cross went over the head of two players going for a header, the ball found the foot of Triana, who fired a shot labeled for the top corner of the net. Senior Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.) lept to get a hand on the ball and punched it away to keep his team in front.

The Pride would, however, get the elusive equalizer in the 79th minute. Off a throw-in, the ball found the foot of Pride freshman Cesar Da Silva (Boca Raton, Fla.). The rookie dribbled to the top of the box and fired a shot that Ford got a fingertip to, but not enough, as the ball found the bottom right corner of the net. The goal was Da Silva's first collegiate goal and, for the fourth time already this season for the Pride, would send the game to overtime.

The Mustangs wasted little time once the overtime began. Just over three and a half minutes into the extra session, junior Juan Brenes (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) streaked down the left side and found Sweet sprinting toward the front of the cage. As the ball left Brenes' boot, Sweet slyly cut inside the Pride defender, getting to the ball first and firing it past the outstretched arms of Bonilla to give the Mustangs the win.

Bonilla was credited with the loss on the afternoon, making five saves to fall to 4-3 on the season. Ford picked up the win for Mount Ida, making seven saves.

Next up for the Pride, they will travel to Suffolk University for a GNAC matchup with the Rams at 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs will return the same day, hosting Lasell College at 12:00 p.m. at Alumni Field.

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