Mitchell College Sports Roundup

Mitchell College twice defeated Becker College in soccer games on Friday, while both the men's and women's cross country running teams came in second in the New England Collegiate Conference Championship on the same day. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College, and Kenneth Belbin, assistant director of athletics and sports information at Lesley University:

Men's Soccer: Mitchell 1, Becker 0

The Mitchell College men’s soccer team earned a spot in the upcoming NECC Championship with a 1-0 victory over Becker College on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale for each squad at Alumni Field.

Mitchell (5-10-1 overall, 3-5-0 NECC) will be the sixth seed in next week’s conference tournament, the winner of which will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. All pairings and game times will be announced by the NECC following the completion of all league contests.

Neither team could score in a first half that was played under a constant, heavy rain. Things didn’t get much better in the second half in regard to the weather, as the rain turned to snow and made the muddy pitch even more difficult to navigate.

Mitchell netted the game’s only goal in the 57^th minute on a shot by junior Michael Berthiaume (Brooklyn, Conn./Woodstock Academy). Senior James Gleason (Old Lyme, Conn./Hyde School) set the play up by dribbling to his right at the top of the box and flicking a pass backward with his heel. Berthiaume lined up the pass and drilled a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal for his second tally of the year.

Play became less tactical as the game wore on, and neither side was able to take advantage of the slick surface. The Mariners outshot the Hawks 18-4 in the second half and had two shots hit the post in the final 30 minutes.

Despite giving up the lone goal, Becker keeper Tim McDonald (Holden, Mass./Wachusett) had a strong game and kept the Hawks in the game with 13 saves against 29 total shots. Becker ended the regular season with an overall record of 3-14-2 (2-6-0 NECC).

The 2011 NECC Championship is slated to begin with quarterfinal games on Wednesday, November 2. The semifinals will be held on November 4 and the title game on November 6. All games will be played at the site of the highest seed. A complete schedule and pairings will be announced by the conference after the completion of all league contests.

Women's Soccer: Mitchell 2, Becker 1

The Mitchell College women’s soccer team used a late goal to come away with a 2-1 win over Becker College on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale for each squad at Alumni Field.

Freshman Maariyah Lombardo (Middletown, Conn./Middletown) snapped a 1-1 tie in the 89^th minute with her second goal of the day to put Mitchell (8-4-2 overall, 6-1-2 NECC) on top. With the win, the Mariners clinched the second seed and the right to host as many as two games in next week’s NECC Championship. Becker (9-8-2 overall, 6-3-0 NECC) also qualified for the tournament but must wait until all this weekend’s conference games are completed before learning its seed.

In a game that was played in a steady rain from the opening whistle, Mitchell took the lead in the 37^th minute on Lombardo’s first tally. Freshman Madeline Crow (Rockville, Md./Quince Orchard) sent a pass across the box that Becker goalkeeper Katherine Cormier (San Diego, Calif./Westview) tried to cut out. Cormier slid out and tipped the ball but couldn’t stop it from connecting with Lombardo near the far post, and she finished into an open net for the game’s first goal.

Trailing by a goal at the half, Becker came out and tied the game in the 60^th minute on a 35-yard score off the foot of Jodi Theriault (Woodstock, Conn./Woodstock Academy). Morgan Hazen (Woodstock, Vt./Woodstock) crossed the ball from the left side to the middle of the field for Theriault, who unleashed a high-arching shot that caught the top-left corner of the goal for her 11^th score of the season.

The game looked destined to go to extra time when senior Leslie Briggs (Dighton, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) sent a pass up the right sideline to Lombardo, who used her speed to turn the corner against a defender. She then dribbled along the end line to the near post and slipped a shot to the right of the goalie that found the side netting for the go-ahead score. The pair of tallies increased her team-leading total to 12 on the season.

Mitchell finished with a 20-9 advantage in shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Woodford (Niantic, Conn./Morgan School) finished with four saves while Cormier recorded seven for the Hawks.

The 2011 NECC Championship is slated to begin with quarterfinal games on Tuesday, November 1. The semifinals will be held on November 3 and the title game on November 5. All games will be played at the site of the highest seed. A complete schedule and pairings will be announced by the conference after the completion of all league contests.

Cross Country Running

Lesley University captured both the men’s and women’s cross country New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship Saturday at a chilled Mines Falls Park, hosted by Daniel Webster College.

Lesley dominated the WOMEN’s race, scoring a perfect 15 points, to capture their fourth consecutive title, the only program to ever win the crown since the NECC began four seasons ago. The Lynx took the first seven spots paced by individual champion Leah Miller (Thomaston, Conn.) who won the 5k course in 19:07 with a 6:10 pace, outdistancing teammate Elise McKelvey (Baltimore, Ohio) who took second 40 seconds behind.

The Lynx were followed by Mitchell College (74 points), Wheelock College (97), Elms College (99), Bay Path College (130), host Daniel Webster (153) and Southern Vermont College (164), while Newbury College and Wheelock College did not score.

Lesley’s Anastassia Lutkevich (Mansfield, Mass.), Keryn Thorvaldsen (Sayville, N.Y.), and Noa Kupfer (Woodbridge, Conn.) finished out the top five, respectively to take automatic first team all-conference honors.

The all-conference second team for finishers six through 10 respectively, included Lesley’s Kat Vacino (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Jacqueline Rosa (Wolcott, Conn.) along with Mitchell’s Bridget Burns (Clark, N.J.) who placed eighth overall, taking top rookie honors, Lesley’s Elissa May (Middleboro, Mass.) and Newbury’s Solange Thomas (Webster, Mass.).

For the host Eagles, Sarah Paternostro (Glastonbury, Conn.) took 13^th overall in 23:01. Antonina Feola (Simsbury, Conn.) placed 35^th in 26:53, Alycia Gervais (Windham, Conn.) was 40^th in 27:46, Jen Fredericks (Beacon Falls, Conn.) took 43^rd in 27:52, Kacie Lang (Raymond, N.H.) was 44^th in 28:07, and Alyssa Marson (Bangor, Maine) was 45^th in 28:15.

On the men’s side, Lesley earned their third successive title, besting the field with 23 points, followed by Mitchell (34), Daniel Webster (81), Southern Vermont (88), and Elms (138), while Newbury and Wheelock did not score.

Mitchell freshman Sherif Ali (Cliffside, Park, N.J.) took the individual crown to capture automatic player and rookie of the year honors, taking the five-mile course in 27:04 with a 5:25 pace. Ali edged out Lesley’s Kyle Casiglio (Shelton, Conn.) who finished just six seconds behind.

Lesley’s Evan Reseska (Holliston, Mass.) took third while teammate Chris Conforti (Brattleboro, Vt.) was fourth and Mitchell’s Evan Garrity (Washington, Conn.) took fifth. The top five finishers earned automatic first team all-conference honors.

The second team all-conference squad, for those who placed 6^th through 10^th respectively, included Lesley’s Max Bulger (Portland, Maine), Mitchell’s Andrew Castagna (Westerly, R.I.), Lesley’s Dillon Simmons, Daniel Webster’s Josh Cosgrove (Sterling, Mass.), and Mitchell’s Jake Ustjanauskas (West Hartford, Conn.).

Host Daniel Webster was also paced by Eric Caron (Groveton, N.H.) who took 12^th in 31:36, Matthew Miller (East Granby, Conn.) who placed 21^st in 33:05, Marty Davis (Bloomsburg, Penn.) who took 22^nd in 33:44, Coby Costa (Bantam, Conn.) who was 26^th in 36:25, and Darrik Marstaller (Spofford, N.H.) who took 30^th in 37:31.

Amy Lane of Elms earned both men’s and women’s “Coach of the Year” honors for the first time. Newbury College earned the men’s Team Sportsmanship Award for the second straight season and third time in four years, while Bay Path was honored with the women’s Team Sportsmanship Award for the second straight season.