Senior Reinorf Kusi powers the ball down field for the Bulldogs offense (Photo Courtesy: Frank Poulin)
FRANKLIN, MA – The Dean College men’s soccer team won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead versus Mitchell College and never looked back enroute to a 3-2 victory. The Bulldogs were certainly pleased by their sudden offensive outburst as the three wins prior in the win streak had all been by 1-0 scores. The Mariners entered in having dropped a tight 3-1 home match vs University of Saint Joseph’s (CT) the previous Tuesday and tying with Colby Sawyer College on Saturday 1-1.
Dean led the game in shots 12-10, shots on goal 7-6, corners 3-1, and fouls 10-6. Mitchell bested the Bulldogs in offsides 5-2. Each goalkeeper, freshmen Jesse Jenkins for the Mariners and senior Alberto Del Rio Gonzalez for the Bulldogs respectively, finished with 4 saves.
Right from the start the Bulldogs game plan could be seen as they looked to generate all the offense out of the back. Eight minutes into the game, it was senior Shavar Champagnie who took a long run down-field and put a spiraling ball right in the wheelhouse of sophomore teammate Jake Richard who powered it into the top right corner of the cage for a 1-0 Dean advantage. The goal was Richard’s second of the season and the assist was Champagnie’s first of the year.
It didn’t take long for Dean to strike again as just 4:55 later senior Reinorf Kusi located the ball just inside the eighteen, dribbled up to the back side of the six, and maneuvered around a couple defenders to give himself enough room to sneak a shot up and by Mariners’ keeper Jesse Jenkins. The tally was Kusi’s first of the season and put the Bulldogs out to a 2-0 lead.
The Mariners, who had had a hard time getting anything going on offense took advantage of a Bulldogs misplay in the 32nd minute. Dean turned the ball over at the top of their own box and junior Dylan Lucey fed a perfect ball to freshmen Nathan Da Cruz as Mitchell cut it to a 2-1 game.
The Bulldogs responded with just over four minutes to play in the opening half with senior Luke Palmer scoring his team leading fifth goal off a nifty no-look pass from Brian Allen on the right wing. The goal put Dean back on top by two, 3-1, heading into the halftime break.
Mitchell pressed and showed the grit and resilience that have defined their first year here in the GNAC throughout the second half’s entirety. They only managed to pot one on the board, which came just four minutes after the break. De La Cruz turned the tables from the earlier offensive setup and now had Dylan Lucey send a high hard one in for the now 3-2 Dean score that would hold as final.
“We started off well and got an early lead, but because we started off so well, we slacked off a bit later in the game,” said sophomore defender Dominick Branco. “At the end of the day though, we still grinded out the win and got the result we wanted and needed.”
The win moves the Bulldogs to 6-2-1 on the season and 4-2-1 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. Dean will look to move their win streak to five straight on Saturday afternoon as they travel to New London, New Hampshire’s Colby Sawyer College for a 1pm match.