No. 4 Monroe College Breaks Through In Second Half Against Men’s Soccer

BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit men's soccer team held the potent No. 4 Monroe College offense at bay in the opening half, but three second half goals proved to be the difference as the Mustangs topped the Warriors 3-0 on Saturday at Warrior Field.

Despite the 3-0 loss, Coach Rui Estrela was extremely pleased with the play of his freshman goalkeeper, Ollie Dagraca (Brockton).

"Ollie was a beast back there," head coach Rui Estrela said. "Today was his best game for us overall so far. His confidence level keeps going up. He really stepped up for us for sure."

Dagraca played stout in goal against the undefeated Mustangs (7-0), making eight saves in the loss as the Warriors dropped to 2-3-1 on the season.

In total, Monroe finished with 30 shots, 19 coming in the first half. Despite peppering the goal, Dagraca and the Warrior defense kept the game tied at the break.

"First half I thought we played well and really hard. Monroe is a very talented team," Estrela said. "I thought we played right with them in the first half, especially missing three starters for much of the half. But, I thought overall we moved the ball well."

In the 56th minute of action, a foul was called on a Warrior defender at the top of the box. Monroe's Jorge Paez rocketed the free kick to the back of the net, for what proved to be the game winner.

The Mustangs added insurance goals in the 67th and 79th minute.

"We just had three defensive breakdowns which they took advantage of," Estrela said. "There was the foul in front of the box and the kid made a great free kick. And then allowing guys to get around us on the endline, twice, which is something we work on at practice not to do. Monroe finished well. I told the guys that if you give a team like this good opportunities they will put them away, and they did."

Massasoit's best chance of scoring came in the 70th minute. A corner kick was lofted in the box but Sidney Cardoso's header went just wide.

"This is good for these guys to see (a team like Monroe), because this is what we are up against moving forward," Estrela said.

Estrela also pointed out the strong play of sophomore midfielder Edgar Lopez (Seekonk).

"Today was the first time we pushed Edgar to center mid and I thought he controlled the middle and worked hard," Estrela said. "One play that sticks out in my mind is that he made a 50-yard run chasing a guy down to our 6-yard box to clear a ball with his head. If he didn't do that, there was a Monroe guy standing there all by himself. Stuff like that is what we are looking for. Ruben (Almedia) also made a run like that, which is what we like to see."

Massasoit hosts MassBay on Monday at 4 PM.