NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida honored the eight senior members of their men's soccer team on Saturday afternoon before playing to a 2-2 draw with Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Suffolk University at Alumni Field.
Michael Templeton (Charlestown, N.H.), one of the honorees in the pre-game ceremony, scored both goals for the Mustangs, giving the hosts the lead 2:30 minutes in, and then tying the game at two, all in the first twenty-five minutes.
"It was an unbelievable feeling," said Templeton of scoring a pair of goals on Senior Day. "It was the first multi-goal game of my career, and it couldn't come at a better time."
Along with the striker, the Mustangs recognized a large group of graduating defenders, including Peter Sliva (Glens Falls, N.Y.), Ryan Gray (Bayport, N.Y.), A.J. Ricketts (Nantucket, Mass.), Dakota Howell (Mesa, Ariz.) and Oscar Lemus (Revere, Mass.).
Forward Nick Rivas-Vasquez (Hamden, Conn.) was also honored, as was senior goalkeeper Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.), who made three saves in the tie game.
Ben Daniels (Nantucket, Mass.) and Alberto Bittan (Caracas, Venezuela) netted the two goals for Suffolk six minutes apart, which at the time gave the visitors a 2-1 lead with less than twenty minutes gone.
Daniels fired a laser from thirty yards out that beat Pils to the far post, while Bittan finished a ball slipped into the box from Juan Lazcano Bello (Madrid, Spain) for his team-high sxith goal of the year.
Junior Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) was the provider on both of Templeton's goals, and both of them came off of set piece opportunities.
In the third minute, Martinez delivered a ball from near the left sideline, which Templeton headed above the grasp of Suffolk junior keeper Nicholas Chamma (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), who made nine saves in seeing his record move to 4-4-1 on the year.
In the 25th minute, with a free kick on the edge of the box, Martinez played the ball short to Templeton, who found himself in clear and with a golden chance against Chamma, which he slotted home for his fourth goal.
"We've seen it a lot. I'll go in to the wall a lot, and we'll see if anyone will guard me if I break off," said Templeton of the set piece play. "That time, it was executed perfectly. It's not something we plan, but it's something we look for."
With five minutes until half, Templeton could have completed his hat trick when he was pulled down in the box and awarded a penalty kick, but his shot at the middle of the goal was saved by a reaching-back Chamma to keep the game at its eventual 2-2 result.
The Mustangs outshot the Rams 21-12 and had a 7-2 edge in corner kick chances.
Mount Ida (6-5-1, 2-2-1 GNAC) will need to recharge quickly before an important GNAC matchup at Albertus Magnus on Monday at 1:00 pm.
Suffolk (4-6-1, 2-2-1) is home for the Columbus Day holiday with a 4:00 pm game at Anna Maria.