Men’s Soccer Pull Off Last Second Win Over Elms College

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—The MCLA Men's Soccer Team welcomed the Elms College Blazers to Shewcraft Field this evening to round out their non-conference schedule. In a chippy meeting between the teams, it came down to a late yellow card on Elms for attempting to slow play that set up a corner kick by the Trailblazers with five seconds left on the clock. Traizen Griffith's corner kick found Brandon Balcazar for the knock into the net with less than two seconds remaining.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Friday, October 18, 2024
• Score: Elms 1, MCLA 2
• Records: Elms College Blazers 3-11-2 (GNAC 2-8-2) | MCLA Trailblazers 7-6-2 (MASCAC 2-2-1)
• Series History: MCLA leads the all-time series 3-0-0, including a 1-0 win in Chicopee on September 13, 2022. MCLA also won the first-ever meeting between the teams 4-1 in Chicopee on September 29, 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The visitors were the first ones on the scoreboard when Abu Sanu's shot was blocked by an MCLA defender but rebounded directly to an open Jamal Hamisi from about ten yards deep, who put the ball into the goal. The goal was Hamisi's first of the season, and the assist was Sanu's third.
• MCLA found an equalizer before the end of the first half when sophomore forward Traizen Griffith (Enfield, CT) carried the ball into Blazers' defensive end and left the ball for junior forward Avery Manzolini (New Lebanon, NY) who turned on a defender and then fired off a shot from about eight yards out and beat the keeper to the short side of the net. The goal was Manzolini's fourth of the season and would send the teams into the break tied at one.
• While things started to get chippy between the teams in the second half, with the teams combining for 13 fouls and four cards, the game came down to a last-second corner kick by MCLA. With the clock ticking down and the Trailblazers setting up for a corner kick, Elms' Andrew Velazquez picked up a yellow card for attempting to prevent the MCLA from getting off the corner kick. After the officials stopped the clock and showed Velazquez the yellow, the referees requested that the clock be set to five seconds remaining. With a clear field in front of him, Griffith lofted the corner kick into the box, where freshman midfielder Brandon Balcazar (Pittsfield, MA) outleaped multiple Blazer defenders to head the ball into the net for the game-winner. The goal was Balcazar's first of his collegiate career, and the assist was Griffith's third.
• MCLA keeper Oliver LeLacheur (Medford, MA) stopped all three shots he faced in the second half, improving his record to 1-1-1. For Elms, Jack Bousquet was charged with the loss, falling to 0-1-0 despite stopping seven of the nine shots he faced.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The assist for Griffith brought his MASCAC-leading points total to 17 (7 goals and 3 assists). Four points ahead of Bridgewater State's Gavin Norton with 13 (4 goals and 5 assists).
• With his four saves on five shots in the first half, senior keeper Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, NY) extended his MASCAC leading save total to 67, 11 ahead of Framingham State's Michael Walker with 56.

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Fitchburg State for a MASCAC matchup with the Falcons at the Elliot Field Athletic Complex. The teams will take the pitch for an 11 a.m. kickoff.

STAY CONNECTED:

For the latest on MCLA Athletics, follow the Trailblazers via our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter).