Oct 18, 2008
#17 Men’s Soccer Edged by #5 Southern NH 2-1
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Southern New Hampshire Penmen,
ranked fifth nationally and first in the east region, edged the
Merrimack men’s soccer team, ranked 17th in the nation and
second in the region, 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.
Trailing 2-0 in the second half, the Warriors rallied late as
Tiago Dalboni (Medford, MA) found a ball in the
middle of a huge scrum in the box and knocked it into the net in
the 77th minute. It was Dalboni’s fifth of the year.
Merrimack continued to ramp up the pressure, outshooting the
Penmen 10-2 in the second half. Their best chance at tying the
score came just minutes after Dalboni’s goal, but a shot off
the foot of Maxime Obongono (Stoneham, MA) glanced
off the near post. The Warriors had three corner kicks late but
could not get one past the tenacious Penmen defense, who entered
today’s game allowing just four goals all season and no more
than one in any single game.
Paulson Edum scored twice in 12 minutes early in the first half
giving the Penmen all the offense they would need. On Edum’s
first goal, he headed in a pretty cross from Ransford Shand in the
12th minute. In the 24th minute, he took a pass from Kevin Woods,
beat a Warrior defender, and fired a shot past a diving Rob
Pedra (South Hamilton, MA) for his seventh of the
season.
The Warriors (9-3-2, 6-3-1 NE-10) are at Assumption College
Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. before hosting their Senior Day against the
2008 National Champion Franklin Pierce next Saturday at 3 p.m.
