MANCHESTER, N.H. - Sophomore Estevão Gouveia (Nashua, N.H.) scored the first two goals of his collegiate career in the second half, powering the Saint Anselm College men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory against cross-town rival and nationally-ranked No. 9 Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday. With the win, the Hawks have defeated the Penmen in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2000-01. The victory also marks the first in program history over the Penmen at home.


UP NEXT:

• Saint Anselm is back home at Melucci Field on Saturday, September 23rd to host Southern Connecticut State University at 1:00 p.m.
• The Hawks are back on the road next week, traveling to The College of Saint Rose on Tuesday, September 26th and to Assumption University on Sunday, October 1st.

Score: Saint Anselm 2, No. 9 Southern New Hampshire 0
Records: Saint Anselm (2-3-2); No. 9 Southern New Hampshire (4-1-2)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Melucci Field)
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Attendance: 172


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Southern New Hampshire started with high intensity and earned the first several chances of the match. In the 8th minute, Luca Shubitidze served in the first corner kick of the game for the Penmen, which found teammate Nicolas Gonzalez in the box. His redirected header just missed the bottom right corner and went out for a goal kick.
• A few minutes later, Shubitidze looped in a ball over the Saint Anselm back line that found teammate Philipp Herrmann at the top of the six-yard box, but Herrmann's one-time strike was misfired over the goal.
• The Hawks got their first shot of the match when junior Lucas Bravo Ollé (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain) curled in a free-kick from right in front of the Penmen bench. His cross found classmate Caden Leader (Durham, N.H.), who's header was stopped by Penmen goalkeeper Preston Neal.
• Hawks sophomore goalkeeper David Hood (Manchester, N.H.) had a busy first half, making two saves and shutting down a number of other opportunities to keep the game scoreless at the intermission.
• Southern New Hampshire increased the tempo in the second half with a flurry of shots. Gonzalez attempted an overhead kick attempt that was denied by Hood in the 57th minute. Tyler Kraft also rifled a shot for the Penmen that just missed the frame a few moments later.
• In the 68th minute, Saint Anselm demonstrated a perfect counter-attack with sophomore Estevão Gouveia (Nashua, N.H.), Leader, and junior James Poschmann (Bedford, N.H.) all involved on the play. Gouveia intercepted a Penmen pass and gave the ball to Leader just across midfield. Leader chipped the ball forward, creating a two-on-one opportunity for Gouveia and Poschmann against lone Penmen defender Isnaba Namusse. Poschmann headed the ball out of the air and down to the feet of Gouveia, who settled the pass and fired a left-footed shot into the lower right corner to put the Hawks ahead, 1-0.
• Just over five minutes later, Gouveia and the Hawks struck again. Off a punt from Hood, junior Samuel Assantha (Bukavu, Democratic Republic on the Congo) settled the ball and spun around his defender before dribbling down the left wing. He found an open Gouveia at the top of the box. The Hawks forward cut to his right foot and blasted a shot inside the left post to double Saint Anselm's lead.
• The Penmen quickly responded on the attack when Iago Perez had a breakaway chance on goal. His shot was saved by a charging Hood, with the follow-up attempt from Herrmann also being denied by the Hawks netminder.
• In the 78th minute, Southern New Hampshire's Rafa Escobedo took a left-footed shot from outside the box that was deflected but grabbed again by Hood.
• With seven minutes to play, Namusse was sent off with his second yellow card for stopping a Saint Anselm counter-attack. The Penmen had a couple of corner-kicks in the final minutes, but the Hawks would hold on for a 2-0 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Southern New Hampshire outshot Saint Anselm 22-10 in the game, while also holding a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Penmen had five corner kicks in the match, while the Hawks had just one.
• Hood recorded six saves for the Hawks, while Neal tallied three saves in goal for the Penmen. This was also the first career complete-game shutout for Hood.
• Gouveia scored the first two goals of his collegiate career and now leads the team in goals scored. Samuel Assantha recorded his second assist of the season in as many games.
• Leader and Poschmann each recorded their first assists of the season.
• This marked the 22nd all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Southern New Hampshire, with this game marking just the third regular season win ever for the Hawks over the Penmen.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For the latest on Saint Anselm College Athletics, follow the Hawks via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.