UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's soccer team defeated the Keuka College Wolves 2-0 on Wednesday night in the team's tune-up match before the Empire 8 Postseason Tournament.
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Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) got the party started, scoring off a fantastic through ball from
Brady Barnard (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) to give the Pioneers a 1-0 edge at the 15:13 mark.
Martin Mendoza (Walden, NY/The Mount Academy) found the back of the net at the 84:38 mark off a feed from
Kosta Karousis (Merrick, NY/W.C. Wellington Mepham) to extend the lead to 2-0.
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Mugushu led the Pioneers with an incredible six shots with
Anderson Velazquez (Norwood, NY/Marble Hill),
Cody Baker-Green (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley),
Martin Mendoza (Walden, NY/The Mount Academy),
Austin McCarthy (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro),
Ryan Ching (Temple City, CA/Temple City), and
Jalen Lucero (Gilbert, AZ/Higley) each recording three or more.
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Eduardo Paez (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) started the first half making one save while earning the win and was relieved by
Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) who made one save in his 45 minutes of play in the second half.
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Utica played a tremendous first half outshooting Keuka 20 to 1 and also led 7 to 2 in corner kicks. It was a gritty first half with three yellow cards and a red card issued to the Wolves. Mugushu scored the lone goal in the half at the 15:13 mark off a beautiful pass by Barnard to aid Utica in taking a 1-0 advantage into the half.
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It was a much quieter second half with much less physical play. The Pioneers fired off another 14 shots in the second half to Keuka's 3. Utica had some fine attempts denied by the Keuka goaltender yet broke through at the 84:38 mark as
Martin Mendoza (Walden, NY/The Mount Academy) scored off a
Kosta Karousis (Merrick, NY/W.C. Wellington Mepham) dime. This goal gave the Pioneers a 2-0 edge and sealed the Empire 8 victory for the team.
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Utica (5-8-3, 3-3-2 Empire 8) will travel to begin the Empire 8 Postseason Tournament on Saturday, October 28 with the time and opponent to be determined.
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