COLCHESTER, Vt. – Joseph D’Antonio (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside ) scored less than five minutes in, and Clancy Purcell (Shelton, Conn./Taft / University of Connecticut) added an insurance tally in the closing minutes to guide the University of New Haven men’s soccer to a 2-0 road victory at Saint Michael’s on Saturday.
With the win, the Chargers improve to 5-7-1 overall and 2-6-1 in the Northeast-10. The Purple Knights fall to 6-4-3 on the season with a 2-4-3 conference tally.
Anastasios Petridis (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon ) turned away all five shots that he faced to record his third and the club’s fourth shutout of the fall.
The Purple Knights’ best scoring opportunity was in the fourth minute. Anthony Stanley was awarded a penalty kick, which hit the crossbar. The rebound was gathered by Ian Rowe, whose second effort was reeled in by Petridis to preserve the scoreless deadlock.
D’Antonio’s team-leading seventh goal came just over a minute later at the 4:26 mark. Joel Rodriguez (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ) sent a long ball over the top of the Saint Michael’s defense, and D’Antonio redirected it past the goalkeeper from 15 yards out to give New Haven an early 1-0 advantage.
D’Antonio’s goal was the 16th of his New Haven career. The marker stood up as the third game-winner of his senior campaign. Fellow senior Rodriguez added his second assist of the fall and the fourth during his time in Blue and Gold.
The Chargers would add to their lead in the 87th minute. Andres Torres (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk / Adelphi University) sent a through-ball to Purcell on the left side, who ripped it across the net into the bottom right corner to run the margin to 2-0.
The goal was the third of Purcell’s 2012 season and two-year Charger career. Torres’ assist runs his total to two helpers and 10 total points in his inaugural season at New Haven.
The Chargers were outshot, 17-9, and Saint Michael’s attempted seven corner kicks to New Haven’s two. Logan Kingman made two saves for the Purple Knights.
New Haven is back on Kayo Field on Wednesday, Oct. 17 for a 4 p.m. visit from conference opponent Assumption. The match will be broadcast live in high definition and on most mobile devices on NewHavenChargers.com.
