KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 27, 2023) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's soccer team put together a night of firsts with a 4-2 triumph over the St. Joseph's – Brooklyn Bears. With their sixth straight victory over the Bears, the Mariners picked up win number one on the season. USMMA improved to 1-4-4 (1-0-2 Skyline) while St. Joseph's – Brooklyn dropped to 1-6 (0-3 Skyline).
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Merchant Marine came into the game wanting to establish more offense in the flow of play and they certainly did that in the opening 45 minutes. Kings Point peppered Bears' goalkeeper Lorenzo La Rosa with 16 shots in the first half while only allowing three shots by St. Joseph's.
The relentless attack by the Mariners paid off at the 17:26 mark when sophomore
Drew Boukidis (Charolotte, N.C.) notched his first career goal off a perfect feed from fellow sophomore
Colin Mushorn (Massapequa, N.Y.). It was a good start for Mushorn as well, who according to head coach
Drew McCarthy has earned a starting role on defense thanks to his strong play.
Fresh off the first tally of his collegiate career, Boukidis kept the offense rolling less than three minutes later. A perfect pass up the middle of the field found freshman
Andrew Jung (Fairfax, Va.) in stride. Jung scored the second goal of his freshman campaign to give USMMA their first multi-goal lead of the season.
On the defensive side, Kings Point turned the contest into a very comfortable one for senior goalkeeper
Ashton Carey (Pasadena, Md.). Carey faced only one shot on goal the entire first half which led to the Mariners' key on offense: transitions.
A staple in USMMA's gameplan is transitioning from defense to offense and it was on display against the Bears. Passes were on point and had a purpose as the Mariners went up and down the field. Kings Point's pressure led to a one-timer goal by junior
Jason Healey (King George, Va.) with 34:04 gone by in the first half. Healey's first twine-tickler of the season was nearly identical to Boukidis' goal: a quick shot from the far side.
Leading 3-0 heading into the second half, Coach McCarthy inserted freshman
Ethan Howell (Alexandria, Va.) into the game for his first career colligate appearance. The Mariners made Howell's debut comfortable as they protected the three-goal edge.
After the Bears and Francisco Garcia cut the deficit to 3-1, freshman
Patrick Novotny (Fort Worth, Texas) joined the party with the first goal of his college career. The three-goal lead was restored and right in the middle of the action again was Boukidis.
Merchant Marine's midfielder started the wheels turning on Novotny's goal with a perfectly placed corner kick. After registering only one assist all of last season, Boukidis had himself a career game with a goal and two helpers.
USMMA held on for the 4-2 win after a late Bears goal by Arturo Franco. Merchant Marine outshot the Bears 25-8 for the game and 12-3 in shots on goal.
The win was a much needed boost for Kings Point, who will head into Senior Day Saturday riding high. That Saturday matinee will take place at 12:00 P.M. when the Mariners mangle with Manhattanville at Tomb Field in a huge Skyline Conference showdown. 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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