Mitchell's Frank Williams played hero for the Mariners scoring on a free kick in the 84th minute to lift Mitchell College Mariners (3-5-0) to victory over the Albertus Magnus Falcons men's soccer team (1-6-0) 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Celentano Field in New Haven, Connecticut.
The first 20 minutes of possession was dominated by the Falcons. Senior midfielder Lindsley Barrett (Shelton, Conn.) orchestrated much of the first half as he was calm on the ball and distributed it well to his teammates. The Falcons fired off seven of their total 25 shots in the first 20 minutes of the game. One of the attempts came from freshman striker Alexis Garcia (West Haven, Conn.) but was halted by a terrific save by Mitchell's goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani. Sinani had an outstanding game totaling ten saves in which most were far from being routine.
Williams ripped two quick shots on goal in the 27th minute; however Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) parried the ball away both times. As the half progressed, the tide of the Albertus Magnus attack started to fade as they found themselves defending for the final ten minutes.
At the end of the first half, Albertus led the game in opportunities taking 12 shots opposed to Mitchell's four.
The second half action proved to be very entertaining. As the players tired, the action was more end to end. After a Mitchell attack was defended, Albertus would quickly counter attack and vice versa.
One of these plays happened in the 54th minute. After a shot by Mitchell's Zachary Simmons that was blocked by a defender, the Falcons looked to take advantage of numbers. Barrett slid a ball to the outside that was eventually knocked through to Garcia. Garcia cleverly poked the ball to one side of the defender and went around him. Garcia collected the ball and ripped a shot on the ground but Sinani made a terrific foot save and knocked the ball out for a corner.
After a wayward header from the Falcons, the Mariners took a chance of their own, sliding a ball through to Simmons. Simmons tried to hit the ball one time but Piroscafo showed his strength and courage as he came out to win the ball. This back and forth play continued for most of the second half.
Finally, as the minutes were dying down, Mitchell cashed in on a free-kick. The free-kick was taken by Williams who was an offensive threat for the entire night. The ball curved around the wall and was tipped by an outstretched Piroscafo. Unfortunately, the senior goalkeeper only got a fingertip to the shot as the ball landed into the side netting.
Williams' goal served as his fourth of the season including his second game winner. This was the second straight game the Falcons gave up a go-ahead goal with under ten minutes remaining.
The Falcons look to rebound Saturday at noon as they travel up to Standish, Maine to take on the St. Joseph's Monks in league play.
