Westfield, MA- In what started as a very defensive match in which each team combined for just three shots on goal in the first half, the Westfield Owls (1-0) surged in the second half to score three unanswered goals to take the 3-0 victory over the Falcons.
Both teams came out strong offensively over the first ten minutes combining for five early corner kicks and early opportunities, but neither team could find the back of the net to start. Over the next 35 minutes of play, offense was tough to come by for the Falcons as they were outshot 7-2 over that stretch. FC had their best scoring chances just before halftime as Steven Jagba (Boston, MA) attempted a header shot past the Westfield keeper, Tyler Diotalevi, but it sailed high. Just a minute later, Jonathan Collins (Southwick, MA) tried to put the visitors ahead before the intermission, but Diotalevi made his second save of the half to keep it a 0-0 match heading into the break.
Fisher's Pedro Wagner (Porto Alegre, Brazil) had the second half's first shot in the 46th minute, but it flew above the crossbar. The defensive battle continued over the next 14 minutes of play until Westfield earned it's 4th corner kick of the match. Paul Soucy took the corner and it was first touched by Ryan Morais who found Nate Weaver who beat Fisher's keeper with a header, Christopher Garcia (Rowland Heights, CA) to take a 1-0 lead. Fisher tried to knot the game at one just seconds later when Andree Molina (El Paso, TX) got free for a shot, but Diotalevi held his teams lead making his third save of the game. The score remained 1-0 until the Owls capitalized on another corner kick from Paul Soucy. This time Westfield's Ryan Della Penna knocked a loose ball on the left side of the box home to give the home team a 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. Not even two minutes later Della Penna tallied his second goal of the game to put the game out of reach for the Falcons, falling 3-0 to bring their season record to 2-1.
Collins and Wagner led the way for the Falcons who each had two shots a piece in the losing effort. Garcia earned four saves, but took the loss for his first of the young season. Diotalevi earned the victory and the shutout, making three saves in the match.
The Falcons will look to bounce back after a few days rest and will take on the University of Maine-Farmington on Saturday at 1pm, their fourth straight away match. The game can be followed with live stats by clicking here.