The St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s soccer team scored three first-half goals and held on for a 4-2 win over Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday, closing out Salisbury University’s Elmer Lord Memorial Tournament with the program’s second straight victory.
Junior forward Nick Haney turned in the standout performance, posting a game-best five points on a career-high two goals and an assist as St. Mary’s improved to 2-1 on the season. Eastern Mennonite fell to 0-3.
St. Mary’s took the lead in the ninth minute when senior captain Braden Kindred finished a Haney feed for his first goal of the season. Haney doubled the advantage himself in the 25th minute, and junior midfielder Zach Blaum made it 3-0 in the 32nd off an assist from senior forward Lucas Evans, sending the Seahawks into halftime in full control. Eastern Mennonite clawed back with goals from Xavier Barravino and Elijah Byrd in a seven-minute span, cutting the deficit to 3-2 by the 76th minute, but Haney answered with an unassisted goal in the 83rd to restore a two-goal cushion and seal the result.
Haney led all players with six shots and four shots on goal. Evans recorded a career-best two assists, while Blaum finished with a goal and an assist of his own. Senior captain and goalkeeper Zack Reed made a career-high seven saves to improve to 1-1 on the season. The two teams finished even in total shots (17) and shots on goal (9 each), though Eastern Mennonite held a 10-5 edge in corner kicks. The win extended St. Mary’s all-time record against Eastern Mennonite to a perfect 5-0.
For Eastern Mennonite, Byrd led the team with four shots, and Kane Kiernan added three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Ryan Bousfield took the loss, allowing four goals on five saves.
St. Mary’s returns home for a three-game stretch at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium: hosting Catholic (1-0-0) on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m., Baruch (0-2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m., and Lehman (0-0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m.
