West Haven, C.T- The New Haven Chargers welcome the Ravens of Franklin Pierce to Kathy Zolad Stadium for the teams fifth conference game. Franklin Pierce being ranked No.1 the Chargers gave them a run for their money for the first half, before the Ravens slipped away late in the second to take the game 3-0.
Right off the bat, New Haven would look to score early, bringing the ball up the field and finding a shot by Sean Lane-Turnbull (Wellington, New Zealand/Rongotai College) within the first two minutes. The New Haven offense who had themselves a game at the beginning of the week against Assumption, would be shut down by the Ravens defense right away. For the next 25 minutes after New Haven's first shot, the Ravens would dominate, but strong defense from the Chargers would keep them scoreless for the entire half.
New Haven would end the first half, only finding two shots, one from the opening act of Sean Lane-Turnbull (Wellington, New Zealand/Rongotai College) and the other from Dennis Andino (Clayton, N.C./Clayton). Goalkeeper Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) would go into the half already having faced 11 shots, making four saves.
The game would remain back and forth as we entered the second half, each team looking for the opening goal on the afternoon. Franklin Pierce would come out strong, taking control of the game, pushing New Haven to their defensive half, and staying there for 38 out of the 45 minutes of the second half.
The Ravens would open the scoring in the 59th minute of play, followed by another in the 67th. The Chargers would find one offensive opportunity in the 76th minute of play, getting a corner kick, but would not be able to find a shot on goal. Franklin Pierce would top off the afternoon action with a third goal in the 83rd minute, following shortly after New Haven would get its second and last shot of the night, that one from Ryan Lim (Marlborough, Conn./RHAM).
The Chargers ended up finding a total of three shots within the game, but only one would force a save from the Ravens keeper. Franklin Pierce would find a total of 22 shots, only 11 making it towards goal. Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) in goal would make a total of eight saves on the night, tying his record for most saves from the season opener against Bridgeport.
Looking forward, the Chargers will regroup and head down to Albany, New York as they take on the Golden Knights of Saint Rose. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4th with a start time of 4:00 p.m.
