O'Connell Provides The Game's Only Scoring With First Career Goal

Mansfield, Conn. - Senior midfielder Matthew O'Connell (Cohasset, Mass.) scored on a 20-yard free kick which deflected off an Eastern Connecticut State University player midway through the first half, to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 1-0 victory over the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors in men's soccer action at the Mansfield Complex this evening.  Trinity, which shut out the Warriors for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the last eight meetings, evens its season mark at 2-2, while Eastern Connecticut, ranked No. 2 in New England and No. 12 nationally, falls to 5-1-1.  All four of Trinity's matches this year have been decided by one goal, including three by a final tally of 1-0.

On the re-start, O'Connell drilled the ball to the left of the Eastern wall. After clearing the wall, it deflected off of an Eastern defender and sailed inside the far right post, beyond the dive of Eastern junior keeper Carl Appel. The goal, the first in O'Connell's collegiate career, ended a streak of 325 consecutive scoreless minutes by Appel.

The first of three saves in the game by Trinity junior goalkeeper Grant Schonberg (Mendham, N.J.) was his best, when he stretched out diving to his left to bat away a one-timer by Eastern's Cory Tobler off a short cross in the box ten minutes into the second half. Six minutes later, Eastern threatened to tie the match again, but Romaro Johnson's header in front off a cross from Tobler sailed wide. On an Eastern counter after Appel made a diving save to his right at the post on a shot by Dan Mayernick (Gladwyne, Pa.), Schonberg left his line to cut down the angle on a breakaway by Eastern's Ryusuke Imamura to preserve the Trinity lead.  On a final bid inside the final ten seconds, Johnson again let loose a header from the near post off a cross from Tobler, but Schonberg hauled it in at the far post.

box score