Men's Soccer Clinches NE10 Championship Berth With Win over American Int'l

Jason Lages

THE BASICS:

- Score: No. 5 Assumption 3, No. 8 American Int'l 2

- Records: No. 5 Assumption (11-7-0, 7-5-0 NE10), No. 8 American Int'l (8-6-3, 5-5-2 NE10)

- Location: Worcester, Mass. (Multi-Sport Stadium)

- The Lead: Kevin Hernandez (San Juan, P.R. / Colegio San Jose) scored the game-winning with less than five minutes left and the Assumption Greyhounds defeated the American Int'l Yellow Jackets 3-2 to advance to the program's first ever Northeast-10 Conference Championship appearance.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

-Hernandez scored the game-winner on a nice pass from teammate Jason Lages (Edgartown, Mass. / Martha's Vineyard Regional). Lages gained the ball along the left sideline and placed a well-positioned pass out front to Hernandez, who put the ball home for his second goal of the game and a 3-2 lead.

-The Yellow Jackets had previously tied the game at the 81:35 mark. Connor Hicks took a pass out front from teammate Jake Durham, getting past the defensive line and putting the ball into the corner of the net. Lages had given the Hounds a 2-1 lead at the 65:55 mark on a free kick that bent left-to-right and into the bottom right corner of the net.

-The two teams played to a 1-1 tie at halftime. American Int'l scored first 11:16 into the game. Tobais Paulsen scored on a through ball from 20-yards out by Durham. Durham sent a ball from right-to-left, just getting it past Assumption goalkeeper Sebastian Jimenez (Naples, Fla. / Gulf Coast High School). The Hounds came back to tie it at the 23:17 mark though. Lages found out front of the net to tie, sending a ball into the back of the net to tie the game at one.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-American Int'l held a 23-13 advantage in shots as well as an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks, producing eight corners in the second half. Hernandez led the team with five shots.

-Hernandez's two-goals is his first multi-goal game of the season. He now has seven goals on the year. Lages now has had scored at least one goal and one assist in three games this season, also adding another game in which he scored two goals. He has five goals and three assists in his last five games.

-Jimenez made nine saves to improve to 11-7-0 for the Hounds. His performance moves him into a tie for first place in most games by a goalkeeper in one season, tied for fourth in most wins in a career and first in most wins in a season. Ben Taylor made five saves for the Yellow Jackets, but fell to 7-6-3.

-Saturday will be the first Championship appearance by the Hounds in program history. The highest seed to ever win the Championship was No. 5 New Hampshire College, now known as Southern N.H. back in 2000. The Hounds, who are ranked No. 5, will face No. 6 Saint Rose in the championship.

UP NEXT:

- The Hounds will host Saint Rose in the NE10 Championship matchup on Saturday, November 16, at 1 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on TwitterFacebookInstagram and YouTube.