Hebert Nets Game Winner In Closing Minutes As Men's Soccer Rallies From Second Half Deficit To Post 3-2 Northeast-10 Victory Over Merrimack
September 6, 2006
STONEHILL MEN'S SOCCER
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Skyhawk Field, Easton, Mass.
FINAL: STONEHILL 3, MERRIMACK 2
1 2 Total
Merrimack (3-2, 0-2 Northeast-10) 2 0 - 2
Stonehill (3-1, 2-1 Northeast-10) 0 3 - 3
SCORING SUMMARY
MER: Eric Gomes (Chris Bierbaum) 17:59 1st
MER: Donnie Aylward (Tiago Dalboni) 24:46 1st
STO: Joey Silva (Ryan Hess, Joseph Sousa) 69:53 2nd
STO: Rick Carvalho (Sousa) 81:45 2nd
STO: Derek Hebert (Sousa, Carvalho) 84:01 2nd
GOALIE SAVES
MER: Rob Pedra-7
STO: Brian Guerrini-10
EASTON, Mass.-- Senior Derek Hebert's (Rockland, Mass.) goal with 5:59 remaining snapped a 2-2 tie and helped propel Stonehill to a 3-2 Northeast-10 Conference men's soccer victory over Merrimack Wednesday afternoon at Skyhawk Field.
The host Skyhawks (3-1, 2-1 Northeast-10) trailed 2-0 at the break and by that same score heading into the final 20-plus minutes of action but got on the board in the 70th minute when junior Joey Silva (Brockton, Mass.) converted feeds from freshman Ryan Hess (Springfield, Mass.) and senior Joseph Sousa (Shelton, Conn.) to slice their deficit in half. Sophomore Rick Carvalho (Hollis, N.H.) evened matters for Stonehill with 8:15 remaining with his third marker of the season on Sousa's second assist of the day to set up Hebert's heroics, as he took passes from Sousa and Carvalho to net the game-winner.
The visiting Warriors (3-2, 0-2 Northeast-10) had taken that 2-0 advantage with a pair of tallies that came less than seven minutes apart in the first half, as sophomore Eric Gomes (Stoughton, Mass.) converted a throw in from junior Chris Bierbaum (Hingham, Mass.) in the 18th minute for a 1-0 Merrimack lead, and senior Donnie Aylward (Groveland, Mass.) extended that margin to 2-0 in the 25th minute on a feed from sophomore Tiago Dalboni (Medford, Mass.). After Silva cut the lead in half, the Warriors had a chance to extend their edge when Dalboni was awarded a penalty kick in the 75th minute, but Stonehill freshman Brian Guerrini (Glastonbury, Conn.) saved the penalty kick and an ensuing rebound shot to preserve the one-goal deficit, setting up the Skyhawk comeback.
Guerrini picked up the win in his first collegiate start for Stonehill, making 10 saves on the day as the Skyhawks posted their first victory over Merrimack in five seasons. Sophomore Rob Pedra (South Hamilton, Mass.) made seven stops in net for the Warriors on the afternoon as Merrimack outshot Stonehill by a 19-11 margin for the match.
Stonehill hosts Bentley in a Northeast-10 outing on Saturday morning at Skyhawk Field beginning at 11:00 a.m., while Merrimack hosts LeMoyne in a Northeast-10 contest on Saturday afternoon in North Andover, Mass. beginning at 1:00 p.m.
