KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 21, 2022) – The USMMA Mariners men's soccer team played about as good as a team can play without earning a victory. The Mariners' first in-conference home game of the season resulted in a 0-0 draw in a battle with the visiting Old Westbury Panthers. Coach Drew McCarthy's club saw its record move to 3-2-3 overall (0-0-2 Skyline), while Old Westbury escaped Bartoszek Field with a 1-3-1 overall record (0-0-1 Skyline).
 
Game Link

• Box Score 

Merchant Marine outplayed the Panthers for a majority of the 90 minutes. Shots for the game were 19-3 in favor of the Mariners and 5-0 in the on-goal department. A prime scoring chance in the first half came from senior Hudson Magee (Chapel Hill, N.C.), but the Mariners' defenseman just missed high over the crossbar.
 
Both pace and tempo increased as the match moved into half number two. Merchant Marine threw everything they could towards the net and Old Westbury goalkeeper James Perciballi. The Panthers' netminder was up to the task for the five-save shutout, but it was a little bit of luck that helped Old Westbury slither out of Kings Point with a draw.
 
Sophomore Jason Healey (King George, Va.) caught Perciballi out of position and appeared to have an open net. A terrific sliding block by Old Westbury's Ashel Santos on Healey's shot kept the game tied.
 
Freshman Clayton Ecalono (Pleasant Grove, Utah) came even closer than that with six-and-a-half minutes remaining. Ecalono used his speed to knife through the defense and fire the best scoring chance of the game for either side. Perciballi was beat clean upstairs, but Ecalono shot was just a tick high, off the crossbar. Ecalono, whose two-game goal streak came to end, came within an eyelash of extending his run to three straight games with a tally.
 
Senior keeper Chase Miller (Boise, Idaho) didn't see a shot on goal all night, as he earned his third shutout of the season.
 
USMMA will look to earn their first Skyline Conference win of the season when they head to Farmingdale State on Saturday, Sept. 24, for a date with the Rams. Game time is scheduled for high noon. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Men's Soccer Schedule Page.
 
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