Men's Soccer Celebrates Senior Day Out With Memorable Win

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team celebrated its three seniors before Saturday's game against Eastern Nazarene but the senior trio of Colby Macdonald, Anthony Romei and Shaquille Robinson delivered the festivities between the lines, combining for seven points as the Blazers earned a 5-2 win over the Lions.

Macdonald (Bristol, Conn.) scored twice while Romei (Enfield, Conn.) added two assists and Robinson (New York, N.Y.) added another helper to solidify a memorable Senior Day. Junior Babba Jaden (Clarkston, Ga.) refused to clear the stage for the seniors, delivering a hat-trick with goals in the 12th, 48th and 83rd minutes to help the Blazer cause.

Elms (5-10-1, 4-2-1 New England Collegiate Conference) got things started when Robinson found Jaden over the top to set up Jaden's first goal 11:33 into the game. The score remained 1-0 until early in the second half when Jaden scored an unassisted goal in the 48th minute. Less than three minutes later, Pedro Duarte (Chicopee, Mass.) led a Blazer breakaway up the flank and played a perfect cross to Macdonald who finished from close range to put Elms ahead 3-0 with 39:56 to play.

ENC (5-9-2, 3-2-2 NECC) crept back into the game during an offensive 10-minute stretch in which three goals were scored. The Lions got it started with an unassisted goal from Prem Subeti (Scranton, Pa.) in the 67th minute. Elms answered when Macdonald got on the end of a Romei free kick and scored inside the near post, but ENC responded with a goal from Sunil Lepcha (Charlotte, N.C.) off an assist from Matthew Cawthrone (Norwell, Mass.) in the 76th minute to make it 4-2.

Elms, however, erased any remaining doubt when Jaden scored in the 83rd minute off a pass from Romei to make it 5-2.

The Blazers finished the game with a 20-19 advantage in shots, scoring on a quarter of their 20 attempts. Jaden needed just seven shots to secure the hat-trick while Macdonald picked up the brace on his only two shot attempts of the game.

Robinson was robbed of a goal when his razzle-dazzle move at the top of the box gave him the time and space to fire a missile that was headed for the back of the net before ENC goalkeeper Florian Resch (St. Stefan, Austria) got a diving fingertip on it to thwart the attempt. That was one of Resch's four saves in the game. Blazer keeper Julian Brosi (West Newbury, Mass.) had five saves in the contest. Each team attempted three corner kicks.

The Blazers wrap up the regular season next week, visiting Western Connecticut State on Oct. 23 and Dean on Oct. 27. ENC will visit Pine Manor on Oct. 27 and Southern Vermont on Oct. 27.