Men’s Soccer Opens NAC Play with 2-1 Victory Over SUNY Cobleskill

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team claimed a 2-1 win over SUNY Cobleskill in the first North Atlantic Conference match of the campaign Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium     

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 2, SUNY Cobleskill 1
Records: Lions (1-1-2, 1-0-0 NAC) | Fighting Tigers (1-4-0, 0-1-0 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Eastern Nazarene seized a 1-0 edge in the final minute of the first half. Juan Susa (Bogota, Colombia) bagged his first career goal as he headed in a corner kick delivered into the box by Aitor Iakovlev (Moralzarzal, Spain).
• SUNY Cobleskill leveled the match at 1-1 with a strike in the 56th minute as Cody Petschko netted his first tally of the year.
• The Lions reclaimed a one-goal lead, 2-1, with a score in the 67th minute. Rafael Romero (Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain) notched his first goal of the season while Bryan Vargas (San Jose, Costa Rica) and Nico Kaczmarczyk (Blickstedt, Germany) each picked up assists.
• The visitors drew a penalty kick in the 87th minute but Eastern Nazarene rookie goalkeeper Julius Blumenauer (Hennef, Germany) parried the attempt to preserve the home side's lead.
  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Senior netminder Erik Berg (Hadley, Mass.) recorded one save in his fourth start of the season. Rookie Julius Blumenauer (Hennef, Germany) made his collegiate debut between the pipes in the second half and finished with two saves, including a dramatic penalty kick stop in the late stages of the match.
• Eastern Nazarene racked up 29 shots in the contest while holding SUNY Cobleskill to just five attempts.
• The Lions finished with a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks earned on the day.
  

UP NEXT:
Eastern Nazarene travels to the Ocean State to face Salve Regina September 19.