Men's Soccer Earns Second Straight Win, Downs Lesley 3-1

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—The MCLA Men's Soccer team picked up their second win in as many games this evening when they welcomed the Lesley University Lynx to Shewcraft Field. Avani Richardson, Traizen Griffith, and Jacob Malburg all put up tallies.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2024
• Score: Lesley 1, MCLA 3
• Records: Lesley University Lynx 0-4-0 (NAC 0-0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 2-3-0 (MASCAC 0-0-0)
• Series History: MCLA leads the all-time series 3-0-0, including a 3-0 win in their last meeting on September 12, 2023, at Lesley. The teams first met on September 9, 2022, a Trailblazers 4-0 home victory.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Avani Richardson (Amherst, MA) opened the scoring in the 38^th minute when he caught the Lynx flat-footed on a direct kick opportunity from about 20 yards out from the goal. Following a Lesley foul, Richardson quickly put the ball back in play after the referee signaled that the ball was live. The Lynx goalie was still attempting to line up his defenders and didn't notice Richardson's kick until it was past him. The goal was Richardson's first of the year and would send the Trailblazers to the halftime break with a 1-0 lead.
• Early in the second half Traizen Griffith (Enfield, CT) doubled the MCLA lead when he intercepted a poorly played pass from a Lynx defender just outside the penalty box and scored on an easy chip shot from about ten yards out. The score was Griffith's second of the season and second in as many games.
• With less than 10 minutes to go, Jacob Malburg (Amesbury, MA) provided MCLA with an insurance goal by scoring on a breakaway pass after Marcos Lopez (Albany, NY) slipped the ball through the middle of the field. The goal was Malburg's second of the season and, like Griffith, his second in as many games.
• Lesley's Marc Kenny derac prevented the Trailblazers from finishing the game with a clean sheet, getting the visitors on the board with an assist credited to Miguel Vasconcelos in the 89^th minute.  
• Trailblazers' keeper Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, NY) stopped four shots and evened his record at 2-2-0. The Lynx's Aiden Hendricks also had four saves but saw his record fall to 0-2-0.

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to SUNY Cobleskill for a non-conference matchup with the Fighting Tigers at The Cobleskill Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. The teams will take the pitch for a 3 p.m. kickoff.