West Haven, Conn. – New Haven took an early lead and never looked back, defeating Southern Connecticut 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Kathy Zolad Stadium. The Chargers captured their first conference win of the season, and notched their first win over their crosstown rival since 1984 with Tiago Vintem (Lisbon, Portugal/E.S. Pedro Nunes) recording his first career goal as the game-winner.
 
New Haven took the lead right out of the gate in the fifth minute. The opportunity was presented from a corner kick, with the Chargers taking advantage of a fifty-fifty ball. Vintem touched in his first career goal, grabbing the loose ball after it was batted around deep in the box off the restart.
 
New Haven kept the ball rolling by taking seven shots in the opening half, two of which went on goal, scoring an insurance goal late in the half. Sean Skeens (Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake Boys) scored his third goal of this season of an assist from Alvaro Ezpeleta (Vigo, Spain/Colegio Amor de Dios) in the 44th minute. The initial forward pass split the Owls' defenders and allowed Skeens to break through the middle and bury a shot low in the middle of the net.
 
Southern Connecticut tallied nine total shots, seven in the second half. Stefano Lorusso (Auckland, New Zealand/Sacred Heart College) collected two crucial saves in the second half on breakaways as his diving saves kept the Owls off the scoreboard. The shutout for Lorusso is his second of the season.
 
The Chargers will return to action following a weekend hiatus when they host Post University on Tuesday, October 15. The non-conference battle is set to start at 3:30 p.m.