COLCHESTER, Vt. – What a difference a day made for the Saint Anselm men's soccer team, responding with a milestone 2-0 victory over Assumption in the consolation of the second annual Catholic Cup.
Friday, the Hawks fell to host Saint Michael's College 3-0, a game in which first-year head coach Christian Gagnon chalked up to youth and inexperience. Yet with a more driven and focused effort Saturday, Saint Anselm has already matured in a very short period of time.
"This weekend's game experience is a critical part of growing our team," Gagnon said. "It is extremely important that this group absorbs everything possible in these early game minutes in their careers. It will make them better players and a better team as they mature and move along together."
Freshman Jack Heintzelman (Middleton, Mass.) scored the first Saint Anselm goal of the season in dramatic fashion. Battling a light rain, the midfielder sent a bending corner kick through the box in the 17th minute that was misplayed by the Assumption goalkeeper. Originally tabbed an own-goal, a perfectly played ball paired with some confusion inside the Greyhound box and slick surfaces all around notched what would be the game-winner early in the first half.
Sophomore midfielder Jack Lynch (Weymouth, Mass.) added a second goal late in the game, scoring a header off a free kick by Heintzelman in the 83rd minute.
Offensive outburst aside, Gagnon also commended the efforts of the Hawks' defensive unit who gave up just three shots on goal—of which sophomore goalkeeper Stephen McLeod (Chelmsford, Mass.) saved all.
"[Friday's] game against Saint Michael's was a very good ice breaker for us," Gagnon said. "Saint Mike's was well organized, mature and brought some significant pressure. It was stressful for our young team but introduced them to highly competitive NE-10 soccer, very quickly. The 3-0 loss was disappointing, but after review, gave us some good things to build on and some important things to correct.
"[Saturday's] game against Assumption was a different look from our team. We immediately showed some differences in the pace of our game, urgency levels and technical ability/execution. I was happy with the way we responded to another physical and mature team. Our team showed some resilience after a tough loss and was able to gain some confidence with a good 2-0 win."
Finishing the Catholic Cup with a third-place distinction, Heintzelman and Lynch were both named to the All-Catholic Cup Tournament Team, as nominated by the coaching staffs of all four institutions.
Saturday's win not only evened the team's record to 1-1 on the young season, it also gave Gagnon his first coaching victory as head coach of the program.
The Hawks will dive into Northeast-10 action on Tuesday, September 16 as they travel to the southside of Boston to take on Stonehill in a 4 p.m. start.
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