Falcons Clipped By Nighthawks, 4-1

Brassard nets lone goal in non-conference setback 

Medford, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to the Nighthawks of Newbury College this afternoon in non-conference action at Hormel Stadium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 1, Newbury 4

Records: Fitchburg State (4-3-0) | Newbury (5-2-1)

How It Happened

Newbury opened the scoring at the 9:13 mark as freshman forward Albert Baraka (Congo Bukavu, Democratic Rep. of Congo/Worcester North) collected a feed from freshman Warren Exceus (Boston, Mass./Tech Boston Academy) and found the back of the net for his second tally of the season for the 1-0 advantage.

The Nighthawks double their margin (2-0) in the 35th minute of action when senior Nicholas Olivares-Thompson (Rochester, N.Y./Spaulding) connected on his third marker on the year off a free kick before Newbury upped its lead seconds later as Exceus blasted a shot into the right side of the net off an assist from Olivares-Thompson for his second score of the 2018 campaign to make the score 3-0 going into the intermission.

Following the break, Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence at the 65:42 mark as junior defender Nolan Brassard (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) received a pass from freshman Clayton Mendes-Rodrigues (Brockton, Mass./Quincy) and connected on his second goal of the season to cut the lead to 3-1.

Newbury secured the victory in the 80th minute of the contest when Exceus netted his second tally of the game off an assist from newcomer Rony Morales (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk), resulting in the 4-1 final.

Inside the Numbers

This afternoon's contest will mark the eighth meeting between the two teams on the pitch with the Falcons 7-1-0 all-time when taking on the Nighthawks.

Fitchburg State had won the first seven contests with Newbury, including a 2-1 decision last season at Elliot Field.

Mendes-Rodrigues concluded the match with a team-best three shots for the Falcons.

Newbury held a 14-10 margin in shots, while Fitchburg State finished with a slim 7-5 edge in corner kicks.

In goal, junior Ga Massicotte (Clinton, Mass./Clinton) made three saves for the Falcons in the setback, while junior Samuel Quinones (San Diego, Calif./San Ysidro) stopped one shot for the Nighthawks in the victory.

Up Next

Falcons will travel to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears on Saturday for a MASCAC matchup, starting at 12:00 PM. Nighthawks will visit the Coast Guard Academy on Monday for a non-conference tilt at 7:00 PM.