Mount Ida College junior Hayato Kanesaka (Old Tappen, NJ/Northern Valley) poked in a deflected shot in the 15th minute during Tuesday's contest against visiting non-conference foe Becker College, 1-0, this Tuesday afternoon in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs, who have won their past two games, improve to 3-4 overall and remain at 2-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play while the Hawks fall to 1-6 on the year.
Although each squad had numerous opportunities to net a goal, the Mustangs were the only team to capitalize. After a hammered shot off the left post by Mount Ida freshman Matt Palatino (Ludlow, MA/Ludlow) that deflected to the other side of the net, junior Billy Beauzile (Brooklyn, NY/Samuel J. Tilden) swung at the rebound nicking the shot towards the middle of the box. Kanesaka came flying in, sliding for the rebound poking it in for the 1-0 lead.
Although the Hawks hung tough, they could not convert to tie the score. After both teams exchanged numerous chances to net a goal, the horn sounded signaling the end of the first half.
The Mustangs had another solid opportunity to add an insurance goal in the 68th minute of play during the second half. Mustang junior forward Hermes Lima (Boston, MA/West Roxbury) was clipped in the box that was followed by an immediate whistle by the referee signaling a penalty shot. Senior Taiki Otsuka (Kanagawa-Ken, Japan/Soubudai) was called upon to take PK. Otsuka fired a shot at the left corner that was denied by Becker goalkeeper senior Aaron Fill (Ladner, BC/Delta) to maintain the chance to tie the game for the visitors. The Hawks gave it a valiant effort for the rest of the game, but solid overall defensive play by the Mustangs gave them the 1-0 victory.
Mount Ida split halves between the pipes with sophomore Steven Enright (South Kingston, RI/Prout) seeing the first have with one save. Mustang freshman goalkeeper Peter Pipia (Astoria, CT/Monsignor-McClancy) saw the first action of his career at Mount Ida stopping three shots including one from point blank range with a minute left to preserve the win. The Hawks got a solid overall performance from Fill who rejected five shots.
The Mustangs will host GNAC member Johnson & Wales University this coming Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m.