AMHERST, MA. – A game-winning goal from senior
Simon Kalinauskas paced No. 15 Amherst College men's soccer to their fourth straight win on Saturday, Oct. 5. The team sent a statement to the rest of the NESCAC and brought home a victory on Senior Day, winning 1-0 over Little Three Rival Wesleyan.
Before the match, the Mammoths honored their 13 seniors:
Max Landa,
Wyatt McCarthy,
Jonny Novak,
Joseph Raymond,
Ignacio Cubeddu,
Ben Clark-Eden,
Micah Valadez Bush,
Fynn Hayton-Ruffner,
Aidan Curtis,
Niall Murphy, Lau ten Cate,
Ryan Gomez, and Kalinauskas. In their four years as a part of the program, this senior class holds an overall record of 54-8-14, while winning two NESCAC Championships and making two National Championship Game appearances.
With the win, the Mammoths improve to 7-1-2 on the year, while Wesleyan fall to 5-3-2 this season. Amherst will look to build on their momentum next weekend, taking on out of conference foe Emerson on Saturday, Oct. 12. They will face the Lions on the road in Boston, with the contest beginning at 2:30 pm.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* After a period of high pressure from the Mammoths in which they found multiple good looks at goal, the team was able to find the back of the net after just 10 minutes had elapsed.
Mohammed Nuhu took a corner kick for the Mammoths, but while the initial ball was cleared, his service back into the mix found Kalinauskas, and the senior nodded the ball home for a 1-0 advantage on Senior Day.
* With just under five minutes to go in the first half, the Cardinals found their best opportunity of the match so far. A long ball over the top was aimed directly for the feet of a Wesleyan forward, but
Jonny Novak made an incredible defensive play, winning the foot race and executing a perfectly-timed slide tackle to clear the ball out of danger. With that threat neutralized, the Mammoths headed into the break with a 1-0 lead.
* The second half saw much more back-and-forth play in the first 30 minutes of the half, with both teams finding success on the defensive side of the ball – while both teams had promising build-up plays, most opportunities were snuffed out by stellar defensive efforts from both squads.
* The Mammoths' best chance came with 12 minutes to go in the game. A good un up the right side by Oped Opoku won a corner that was expertly taken by the first year. While Novak's initial header was cleared, the ball eventually found its way back to Murphy at the top of the box, who fired a rifle at goal and forced a big save out of the Wesleyan goalkeeper.
* The Cardinals came on strong in the final 10 minutes, with their best chance of the game coming on a corner kick with just over five minutes to go. Though the initial ball was headed out by an Amherst defender, the rebound fell perfectly for a Wesleyan player. His shot looked destined for goal, but
Riley Priddy made the play of the game, standing tall and taking the laser off his chest on the goal line to keep the game at 1-0 in favor of the Mammoths.
* Some more heroic defending from the Mammoths in the game's final two minutes sealed the win, with Clark-Eden sliding in to block Wesleyan's final shot of the contest and reserving the 1-0 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Amherst led 10-8 in shots as well as 6-2 in shots on goal, and 7-6 on corner kicks. However, this game was a tale of two halves: the Mammoths outshot the Cardinals 8-1 in the first half, while Wesleyan lead 7-2 in the second.
* First-year
Trey Sheppard started in goal for the Mammoths and made 2 saves in 90 minutes of action.
