NEWARK, Del. ? The Monmouth University men's soccer team posted their third straight shutout in defeating Delaware 2-0 in nonconference action at the UD Mini-Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Hawks are now 3-1-1, and unbeaten in their last four contests, while Delaware falls to 1-4-1 on the season.
“The soccer gods must have been smiling on us tonight because Delaware controlled the lion's share of the game's possession, but I have to give credit to our back four because they played well for us,” said head coach Robert McCourt. “It's a sign of a good team to find ways to win even when it wasn't one of our best performances; good teams find ways to win even when dealing with adversity.”
The Hawks and Blue Hens played to a scoreless first half, with Delaware firing 10 shots compared to eight for MU. Monmouth's best scoring chance in the match's first 45 minutes came when Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) fired a spectacular long distance shot that was saved in the upper 90 by Delaware keeper Conrad Rusnak, keeping the match scoreless around the 30-minute mark.
Less than four minutes into the second half, Monmouth struck for the match's first goal when freshman RJ Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph's) tallied his first collegiate point when he played a ball to Barbieri, who scored from inside the six to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The goal was Barbieri's team-leading fourth of the early season.
The game remained 1-0 until the 87th minute, when Barbieri found teammate Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) who beat the Blue Hen keeper to the far left post with a shot from inside the 18 to give MU the 2-0 final decision.
“Chase and Ryan continue to be in really good form this season,” added McCourt. “Delaware played very well, but back four were solid again and we were able to catch them on the break twice.”
The MU defense, paced by the back four of upperclassmen Daniel Bostock (Nottinghamshire, England/Virginia Intermont) and Angelo Amato (Livingston, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy), as well as freshmen Allen and Christian Nogueira (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), helped keeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) log his third straight shutout. Coming into tonight's match, Meredith was ranked 20th in the country in goals against average, allowing .471 goals per match. He is one of seven underclassmen in the nationally top-20 GAA rankings.
The Blue Hens outshot MU 15-13 in the game, and held a 6-5 advantage on corner kicks.
Monmouth returns to action on Thursday, September 25 when they begin a six-game homestand by hosting in-state rival Princeton on The Great Lawn at 3:00 p.m.
