Men’s Soccer Gets First Win In Season Finale

Andrew DeCapua, Staff Writer
November 12, 2019

In their final match of the season, the Central Connecticut men’s soccer team notched their first victory of the year, defeating Sacred Heart University 3-2 in overtime on the road.

The Blue Devils struck first with a 26th minute unassisted goal from senior captain Eddie Yepes off of a free kick. The Blue Devils’ defense held strong during the first half, giving up only four shots and no goals in the first 45 minutes.

Sacred Heart hit the ground running in the second half with a 49th minute unassisted goal past the keeper from Segundo Navarro, followed almost immediately by a 50th minute goal from Altin Celaj scored off a rebound.

The Blue Devils eventually answered in the 85th minute with an unassisted goal from sophomore Panos Ravanis that he buried after winning a loose ball. At the end of regulation the score was an even 2-2, and would require overtime to determine a winner.

The lone overtime goal was scored from a familiar face as Yepes scored unassisted in the 94th minute, giving him a total of two goals scored in the match. The Blue Devils went on to win the contest with a final score of 3-2.

Sacred Heart handily outshot the Blue Devils in the match. The Pioneers had a total of 21 shots with 16 of them being on goal, compared to a total of 12 shots with only 6 being on goal for Central Connecticut.

The Blue Devils’ sophomore goalkeeper, Jason Dubrovich was largely responsible for keeping CCSU in the match going down the stretch. Dubrovich tallied a season high total of 14 saves while only allowing two goals in the match.

The match against the Pioneers was Central Connecticut’s final match of the season and concluded their 50th season of varsity contention for CCSU men’s soccer team. The Blue Devils finish the year with a 1-13-1 and a 1-8 record in Northeast Conference play.

Next season, the Blue Devils will be without seniors Yepes and John Wilkins. Yepes was the leading scorer for CCSU this season with six goals, an offensive output that will surely be missed by the Blue Devils. With such a relatively young team, Central will look to build on what was a disappointing season as they look forward to next year.