Men’s Soccer Drop Non-Conference Matchup on Senior Day

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—The MCLA Men's Soccer Team welcomed the SUNY Poly Wildcats to Shewcraft Field this afternoon for a non-conference matchup after celebrating their 11-player graduating class. The game was a chippy affair, with the teams combining for eight yellow cards and one red card as SUNY Poly took home a 2-0 win.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Sunday, September 29, 2024
• Score: SUNY Poly 2, MCLA 0
• Records: SUNY Poly Wildcats 6-2-0 (Empire 8 1-1-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 5-5-0 (MASCAC 1-1-0)
• Series History: SUNY Poly leads the all-time series between the teams 4-1-1, including a 3-1 victory at their place in the last meeting on October 11, 2023. The Wildcats also took the first-ever meeting between the teams by a score of 2-1 in North Adams on September 8, 2012.

SENIOR DAY

Before the first game, the Trailblazers recognized their graduating senior class as part of senior night. Ryan Taylor, Ronan Connors, Connor Green, Thomas Hickey, Liam Gibney, David Kankam, Avani Richardson, Jacob Richardson, Ethan Smith, and Deni Rizvic were honored by coaches, teammates, family members, and fans for their time with the soccer program. Although their time with the program may end, they will forever be a part of the MCLA family.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• The teams played to a scoreless draw through the first half with MCLA's senior goalkeeper Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, NY) stopping both shots he faced while his counterpart for SUNY Poly, Ryan Primus, also stopped the one shot on goal he faced.
• In the 75^th minute, the Wildcats finally broke through with the first goal. Payton Bennett recorded his second tally of the season with an assist from Owen Brignati.
• SUNY Poly added an insurance goal in the game's closing seconds when Abus Mohamed Ali converted on a penalty kick with only 58 seconds left on the game clock.
• After taking over in net for the Wildcats, Tyler Barth stopped both shots on net that he faced and improved his record to 1-0-0. Senior Deni Rizvic (New Milford, MA) picked up four saves for the Trailblazers but still saw his record drop to 0-1-0.

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Westfield State for a MASCAC matchup with the Owls at Alumni Field. The teams will take the pitch for a noon kickoff.

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