Men's Soccer tripped up by Albertus Magnus

(New Haven, Conn.) The Rivier University Men's Soccer team dropped a tough road Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this afternoon at Albertus Magnus College, 2-0. The Raiders fall to 1-5 on the season with a 0-3 GNAC record while the Falcons improve to 6-2 overall (2-1 GNAC).

Albertus Magnus saw junior midfielder Matt Mueller (Cheshire, Conn.) scored two second half goals to secure the win.

Early in the second stanza, Mueller broke a scoreless tie with his first marker of the day and of the season. Off a free kick taken by junior midfielder Alex Zapata (Hamden, Conn.), sophomore Justyn Broderick (Orange, Conn.) flicked the ball on with his head and Mueller buried a shot from the middle of the box through traffic. Broderick earned his second helper of the fall on the eventual game-winner.

Later in the second half, Mueller gave the hosts a little breathing room with his second goal of the contest. After the Falcons won the ball in the midfield, Zapata played a through ball to a cutting Milton Calderon (New Haven, Conn.). Calderon came in uncontested and took Raider junior goalkeeper Gary Archambault off his line before finding an uncovered Mueller in front of the net for the score in the 85th minute. On the tally, Zapata set the play up with a perfect ball for the second time in the game and Calderon registered his first point of the season.

Minutes before Mueller's second marker, Rivier threatened to knot the tilt at one. After a foul was called on the Falcons just outside the box, Raider junior midfielder Kyle Gambeski stepped up for a free kick. After the players lined up, Gambeski fired a low shot under the leaping wall of Albertus Magnus defenders that Falcon freshman goalkeeper Joe Russo (North Haven, Conn.) turned aside with a diving effort.

In goal, Archambault stopped three shots in the loss for Rivier. On the opposite end, Russo made three saves in his first collegiate start to earn the shutout victory for Albertus Magnus.

Albertus held a 17-8 advantage in shots and the hosts took six corners compared to three for Rivier. The physical contest 37 fouls called and four yellow cards handed out in the second half.

Rivier will travel across town on Wednesday afternoon as they return to the pitch for a 4pm kickoff with Daniel Webster College.