BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The University of New Haven men's soccer team kicked off the 2021 season and 59th season in program history with a 4-3 win in a non-conference match against in-state rival Bridgeport at Knights Field on Thursday night.
The return to the pitch was the fourth-straight year the two teams have met and ended a 665 day hiatus since the last time New Haven took the field, a 2-0 win over the Bentley Falcons on Nov. 6, 2019.
New Haven was able to break through the Knight's defenses and take an early 2-0 lead, started off by a goal by freshman forward Pau Santanach (Barcelona, Spain/Collegi CreaNova) off assists from classmate Alexander Gunnarsson (Kopavogur, Iceland/Verzlenarskoli Islands) and junior Ian Richling (Weston, Conn./Weston). The second goal came less than three minutes later when senior Francisco Guedes (Lisbon, Portugal/Maristas de Carcavelos) scored on a header from a corner kick served in by Estanislao Desseno (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Saint Patrick College).
Although Bridgeport answered with a goal of their own prior to halftime, the Chargers were able to add to their lead with an unassisted goal by senior Alvaro Ezpeleta (Vigo, Spain/Colegio Amor de Dios) off a deflection around the 55 minute mark.
The Knights managed to mount a comeback but the late effort was foiled by Santanach's second goal of the game stemming from an over the top pass by Desseno, his second assist.
Santanach's seven shots, four of which on goal, led the team as New Haven outshot Bridgeport 13-12 while also drawing five corner kicks.
Despite not having a save in the first half, freshman goalkeeper Themis Kastoris's (Gothenburg, Sweden/Kitas Gymnasiet) four second half saves, three of those in the final ten minutes, helped clinch a Chargers victory.
New Haven, now 1-0-0 returns to action for their home opener as they host Bloomfield College for a non-conference match on Wednesday, September 8th. Opening kick for the first game of a doubleheader with the women's team at Kathy Zolad Stadium is set for 4:00 PM.
