NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College faced a difficult test in their non-conference men's soccer game on Wednesday night at Alumni Field, and fell to Babson College, ranked #9 in New England, by a 4-0 score-line.
The Mustangs (2-2) will now turn their attention to their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) schedule, which begins on Saturday when they host Anna Maria at 1:00 pm.
Senior Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.) made seven stops against the Beavers, and kept the game scoreless in the 13th minute when he made a diving stop on a penalty kick by Babson junior Tyler Carlos (Prospect, Conn.).
The teams went into the break scoreless, but Justin Laurenzo (Park Ridge, N.J.) opened the scoring with the eventual game-winner in the 60th minute. Laurenzo took a pass from Shane Mandel (Sysoset, N.Y.) and hit a brilliant strike which curled in, beating Pils and bouncing off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
Nine minutes later, Pils darted out to ferry away a cross, but the ball fell to Babson freshman Christopher Doire (Mansfield, Mass.), who slammed it home for the first goal of his collegiate career.
Carlos helped his team get on the scoreboard again in the 81st minute when he delivered a corner kick, one of five in the game for Babson, which Andrew Gonzalez (Durham, Conn.) jumped high into the air and poked home his first goal of the season.
A minute and a half from full time, sophomore Caleb Long (Kingston, Mass.) took advantage of another rebound and finished a low shot from the right side for his first score of the year.
Junior Stephen Donato (Morganville, N.J.) was effective in net, making three stops to earn the victory and shutout in his first action of the year. Donato's best effort came late in the game when he dove to knock away an effort by freshman striker Robert McClafferty (Abington, Mass.), who did well to turn and get a shot off for Mount Ida at the edge of the box.
The visitors had a 26-5 edge in shots, while Mount Ida earned just one attempt from the corner flag.
The Beavers (4-1) will play their first game at home in September on Saturday afternoon when they host Lesley at 12:00 pm.