Men’s Soccer Uses Three-Goal Second Half to Best Southern Vermont College, 4-1

BENNINGTON, Vt. – Elms College junior forward Adam O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) and sophomore midfielder Josh DiNoto (Branford, Conn.) each scored a goal and assisted on another to help propel the Blazers to a 4-1 triumph over Southern Vermont College in Wednesday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's soccer game at Everett Field in Bennington, Vt.

With the win, Elms improves to 6-5-2 overall, 2-1-1 in NECC action, while Southern Vermont falls to 2-12 on the season, 1-3 in league action.

Elms got on the board at the 29:58 mark of the first half when freshman defender Joe Pellegrini (Somers, Conn.) and DiNoto combined to assist on a goal by freshman forward Gerard Lawler (Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia) to lift the Blazers to a 1-0 advantage.

Elms, which outshot Southern Vermont 10-4 and held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play, took a 1-0 lead into intermission.

Mountaineers' goalkeeper Christopher Dunham (Valley Falls, N.Y.) made two saves in the opening period, while Blazers' freshman net-minder Nicholson Pennant (Kingston, Jamaica) turned away the one shot he faced on goal.

The Blazers added to their lead in the 68^th minute of play when sophomore forward Joelle Reyes (San Salvador, El Salvador) scored an unassisted goal to increase the lead to 2-0.

Southern Vermont answered when Connor Murray (Litchfield, Conn.) added a marker of his own on an assist from Erik Argueta (Pico Rivera, Calif.) to cut the Mountaineers' deficit in half with 11 minutes to play in the contest.  

Adam O'Grady then struck for his goal in the 82^nd minute to give the Blazers a two-goal cushion, and four minutes later, delivered a pass to DiNoto who scored his first goal of the season, to put Elms ahead, 4-1 and complete the victory.

Elms' freshman goalkeeper Christian Kostka (Oxford, Conn.) played the second half between the pipes and notched a save, while Dunham turned away four total shots for the Mountaineers.

DiNoto finished with two shots on target to lead the Blazers, while Murray tallied two shots on goal for Southern Vermont in the losing effort.

Elms is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 20 when it hosts Lesley University in NECC action at 3:00 p.m. at Leary Field.