HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College men's soccer team picked up a senior day victory over Elms College on Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field, using two first-half goals and a second-half penalty shot to sneak past the Blazers, 3-2.
The scoring got started quickly as just 6:29 into the contest, freshman Eddy Nyemah (Manchester, N.H.) put the 'Grims up 1-0 with a ricochet score for his third goal of the season. Senior Patrick Tewksbury (Londonderry, N.H.) was credited with the assist. Just 16 seconds later, however, Elms answered with a goal of their own from Andrew Velasquez on a quickly formulated fast break.
Both teams searched for the go-ahead goal before halftime and in the 38th minute, freshman Amit Solomon (Wilton, Conn.) answered the call with a left-footed score off an assist from Nyemah to put NEC up going into the break.
In the 65th minute, NEC would extend their lead to 3-1 after a foul inside the box granted the Pilgrims a penalty kick; Nyemah took the shot and came through with his second goal of the game to put them up by two.
In the 86th minute, Elms was granted a penalty shot of their own and Jacobo Molina Ferrer, the GNAC's leading scorer, who had been held in check to that point, converted and reduced the NEC lead to one with under four minutes remaining.
The Pilgrims defense would be tested in the final minutes, but they would hold on for the 3-2 GNAC win. The senior day win comes after the team celebrated their senior class prior to the game, recognizing seniors Tewksbury, Noel Huliselan (Jakarta, Indonesia), Wyatt Flibbert (Windham, Maine), and Anthony Galdi (Las Vegas, Nev.).
Nyemah exploded for five points in the win, now sharing a tie for the team-lead with four goals and 10 points in just nine games played and five starts. In net, junior Matt Guzman (San Bernardino, Calif.) finished with seven saves in his fourth straight start.
After picking up a key conference win, the team plays its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday as Framingham State comes to town for a 7:00 PM matchup.
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