DANBURY, Conn. (Oct. 13, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's soccer team fell 3-1 to WestConn in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the Westside Athletic Complex. The Mariners dropped to 5-3-7 overall, while the Wolves moved to 11-3-3.
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WestConn wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the fourth minute when Nickolas Santana found the back of the net with a shot toward the bottom-right corner off a feed from Chance Campbell, giving the hosts an early 1-0 lead. The Wolves doubled their advantage in the 11th minute when Santana struck again, sending a shot into the bottom-center portion of the net off assists from Bamfa Fofana and Rodrigo Lancho to make it 2-0. The Mariners looked to answer in the 16th minute, but junior Cal Lutz's (South Pasadena, Calif.) shot toward the bottom-center portion of the net was stopped by WestConn goalkeeper Makai Smith to preserve the two-goal lead.
The Wolves created another opportunity moments later as Campbell tested senior goalkeeper James Castoro (Garden City, N.Y.), who turned away the attempt to keep the score at 2-0. Merchant Marine created a scoring chance in the 19th minute when junior Colin Robertson (Milford, Mich.) sent a shot toward the bottom-right corner, but Smith denied it. WestConn applied more pressure later in the half as Campbell fired another shot on goal in the 30th minute, but Castoro made the save. Castoro came up with another stop in the 31st minute, turning away a shot from Jokin Martinez to keep the deficit at two goals heading into halftime.
The Blue and Gray cut the deficit to one in the 58th minute when senior Andrew Jung (Fairfax, Va.) found the back of the net with a shot toward the bottom-center of the goal off a feed from freshman Drew Coyne (Harrington, N.J.), trimming WestConn's lead to 2-1. The Wolves responded less than two minutes later, in the 60th minute, when Ernesto Barrosa scored off a feed from Rodrigo Lancho to restore the hosts' two-goal advantage, 3-1. WestConn continued to apply pressure late in the second half as Denton Guy-Williams registered back-to-back shots on goal in the 80th and 81st minutes, but Castoro turned away both attempts to keep the deficit at two.
The Mariners looked to mount a late comeback in the 84th minute, but Smith denied sophomore Brendan Farrell's (Holbrook, N.Y.) shot toward the bottom-center of the net. Sophomore Alex Hwang (Centreville, Va.) tested Smith with another shot on goal, but the WestConn goalkeeper stopped it to secure the 3-1 win.
WestConn outshot USMMA 17-11, while the Mariners held an 8-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Castoro posted a game-high six saves for the Mariners, while Smith picked up the win for the Wolves with five saves.
The Mariners return to action on Friday, Oct. 16, when they host rival SUNY Maritime in Skyline Conference action for the annual 142 Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Bartoszek Field.
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