Christopher Boulay / Asst. Sports Editor
Four Blue Devils scored as CCSU men’s soccer ripped Manchester Community College 4-0 at Arute Field.
CCSU dominated possession throughout the match, and the scoreline was modest compared to the opportunities created by the offense. The first 20 minutes of the match had many opportunities, but not many quality chances.
Coach Shaun Green praised his team’s effort and was optimistic about the immediate future of the team.
“I am extremely happy it has been a perfect spring season so far. Captains [Eddie] Floyd and [Robert] Cavener have led us on the field, we have had interest from the fan base and the players have responded,” Green said. “We are bang on target for what we will do in the fall.”
Midfielder Connor Smith opened up the scoring in the 27th minute on a pass from forward Chris Brown, and CCSU would never look back.
Floyd continued his spectacular play this spring with a rocket to the top corner in the 43rd minute, and the Blue Devils were making it look easy by halftime.
“We created some fantastic opportunities and we really took advantage of our opportunities, but we should have had a few more,” said assistant coach Paul Wright.
CCSU had numerous attempts on goal. The Blue Devils were in the attacking third for the majority of the match and the goalkeepers saw little work.
Cavener ran straight past the keeper and sunk the ball across the face of goal into the right corner to add the third goal to the tally in the 57th minute.
Cavener was visibly thrilled with the team’s play and the result.
“We played well. It has been more or less the same from us, but this time we took our chances and we got our third and fourth [goals],” Cavener said. “We kept the shutout, our first of the spring. We tried the new formation in the second half and it seemed to work. I am happy to score a goal as well.”
Forward Collin Nicholas completed the rout in the 73rd minute, his second goal in two matches after receiving a pass from midfielder Benjamin Barton and mimicking Cavener’s earlier effort by running past the Cougars goalkeeper.
“We try to encourage a little flair in the final third of the field. I felt we had that,” Wright said.
Goalkeeper Paul Armstrong had another clean sheet in the first half, bringing his total shutout streak to 135 minutes in the spring season.
“We’ve been playing well and have been steady at the back end. I can’t complain,” Armstrong said. “We have been working hard in training and it has paid off. The team is looking forward to games and having a couple hundred people watching [each match], it is nice to see and it is showing in the results.”
Though the team’s morale is high at the moment, Wright was still critical of some aspects of the Blue Devil’s play.
“I am never satisfied. I was disappointed with the last 25 minutes tonight. I felt we lacked a bit of patience, we could have built up more possession. But overall, it was a good performance.”
Persis Oware suffered a leg injury in the 80th minute. Though the extent is not yet known, it is believed to be a lower leg injury.
“We don’t know right now, but it looks to be a serious tibia or ankle injury,” Wright said.
“[Oware] heard a pop and the medic hasn’t been able to check because he is in so much pain.”
CCSU also played in a round robin tournament at Yale against the Bulldogs (0-0) and lost to Marist College (3-1) on Sunday.
“We have a couple of big tests left. Yale will be at home and it is a strong test. Hopefully we can bring confidence into the game,” Wright said.
The final game of the spring season for the Blue Devils is away on May 3 against the Hartford United FC.
