Posted: Sep 17, 2014
FRANKLIN, Mass. ---- Manny Fortes (Brockton) made his first collegiate goal a memorable one, finding the back of the net in overtime to give the Massasoit men's soccer team a 1-0 victory against rival Dean College on Wednesday.
Massasoit (4-2, 3-0) defeated the Bulldogs for the third consecutive matchup in the first meeting since the Region XXI Championship last season.
A physical contest throughout, that featured 27 total fouls and four cards, Massasoit was able to keep its cool in overtime period to earn the 1-0 victory.
In the 96th minute, Fortes secured a long pass from fellow freshman Vangjel Kutulla (Norwood), made a double move on two Bulldog defenders to bury the golden goal for the victory.
Dean did not have many chances offensively, as Andre Reis (Fall River) was credited with the shutout without having to make a save.
"They went down a man early on and they tried to pack it in, but give them credit they hung right there with us" head coach Rui Estrela said. "I thought we controlled a lot of the game. Again, we were back to not being able to finish in our offensive third. The chances were there, we just didn't put it away. When that happens, games linger on and linger on and you really have to work your tail off to get that goal.
"But, we got the job done in the end and got the goal when we needed it."
HOW MASSASOIT WON: In the 18th minute of action, an altercation took place causing a Dean College student-athlete to be ejected. The Warriors would play up a man the rest of the way. However, Dean played strong defensively and packed in its defenders to force the game to go to overtime.
Massasoit finally finished in the 96th minute, after outshooting Dean 14 to five.
FORTES' FIRST: Manny Fortes was playing in just his third career game for the Warriors came off the bench to net his first career goal in dramatic fashion.
SLIM CHANCES: The Warriors were only able to muster five shots on goal against the Bulldogs. Pepe Vieira (Brockton), who finished with a team-high five shots, fired a try in the 35th minute, but Dean keeper Karim Mohktar punched the shot over the net.
In the first 30 seconds of the second half, Fortes booted an attempt wide from Vieira. Later on the 84th minute, Fortes knocked a header off a redirect, but again Mohktar made the save.
Dean's best chance came in the 60th minute. Following a foul, the Bulldogs had an indirect kick just inside the 18-yard box on the right side. Dean would fire off two shots, but both would be blocked by Massasoit defenders.
NEXT UP: Massasoit hosts Monroe College on Saturday at Warrior Field.
