On Nov. 16, the New Haven men’s soccer team faced the Southern New Hampshire Penmen in the Northeast-10 conference championship. The Chargers fell short to the Penmen, 1-2. The Chargers made their appearance once again in the NCAA soccer tournament, which marks 40 seasons since they first faced the Concord University Mountain Lions in the first round.

Right from the start, the Chargers maintained possession. As the first half progressed, the Mountain Lions matched the Chargers’ intensity. With a few minutes remaining in the first half, Concord’s forward Fabian Amhof was able to find the back of the net for the Mountain Lions. However, only three minutes later, midfielder Davide Maiello headed in a ball off a corner kick taken by midfielder Sandro Branquinho which equalized the game before the end of the first half.

At the beginning of the second half, the Chargers applied high pressure and made it difficult for the Mountain Lions to keep up. Seconds into the half, New Haven scored again, with midfielder Gianluca Trastulli finding the back of the net, which put the Chargers at a 2-1 advantage. They maintained their lead until the 70th minute when forward Richard Henry scored for the Mountain Lions, and tied the game at 2-2. At the 90-minute mark, the game was sent into overtime.

During overtime, both teams applied pressure as they looked to score, creating a tense back-and-forth dynamic. However, neither side was able to find the back of the net, which led to a series of penalty kicks to determine the winner.

The Chargers were defeated in the penalty shootout, losing 4-2, which allowed the Mountain Lions to advance in the tournament bracket.

After the loss, the Chargers finished their season 12-4-4 overall and 5-2-2 in conference play. For more information about the Chargers’ upcoming season, be sure to visit NewHavenChargers.com.