After a win on the road against Adelphi University, the New Haven Chargers secured a quarterfinal game in the Northeast 10 Championship. On Saturday, the Chargers faced the Saint Michael’s College Purple Knights and collected a big victory, 3-1.
Early in the game, the Chargers and Purple Knights pressurized one another on the field and displayed an equally balanced game. Midfielder Adam Lindstrom and forward Pau Santanach took the first attempts for the Chargers but both shots went out top, respectively. The Purple Knights’ Ronnie Riby-Williams and Amos Schramm countered with their own shots but New Haven’s goalkeeper Archie Watts saved both. New Haven and Saint Michael’s both exchanged a series of fouls before the Chargers found a breakthrough near the end of the half. Freshman Darsein Gabriel was able to put the ball in the back of the net off a bounce and secured the first goal of the game.New Haven entered halftime with a 1-0 advantage.
As the second half began, Saint Michaels came out with a different mindset towards the game and pressurized the Chargers defense. In the 59th, striker Riby-Williams struck the back of the net for the Purple Knights and tied the match 1-1. New Haven kept fighting as they took two shot attempts before taking the lead again minutes later. Midfielder Sandro Branquinho scored the second goal of the game for the Chargers off an assist from Lindstrom and midfielder Davide Maiello. New Haven kept possession of the ball for the remainder of the game and didn’t slow down offensively as midfielder Luke Fiscella assisted Santanach to make the game 3-1.
New Haven finished the game with 22 shot attempts with 12 on goal while Saint Michael’s only took six attempts, and had five on goal. Three yellow cards were given during the game, two being towards the Chargers, while the other was toward the Purple Knights. After 90 minutes of play, Watts had four saves at goal, while Saint Michael’s goalkeeper Garrett Smith had eight.
Succeeding this win over the Purple Knights, the New Haven Chargers have secured their ticket to the NE10 Championships Semifinal game. The Chargers will face off against the Franklin Pierce Ravens on Wednesday. For further information, please visit NewHavenChargers.com.
