Manchester, N.H. – Merrimack College, ranked 14th in this week's NSCAA national rankings and the fourth seed, scored twice in the opening 17 minutes en route to defeating fifth-seeded Le Moyne College in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship on Thursday night at Southern New Hampshire University's Larkin Field.

Merrimack advances to the second round of the NCAA Championship and will take on top-seeded and host Southern New Hampshire at 1:00 p.m.

The Warriors opened the game's scoring just over five minutes into the contest. Off a corner kick by Joseph Briers, Jaime Cortes Torres flicked the ball from the far post into the air. Mattia Lanzi jumped and bicycle kicked the ball into the lower right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Merrimack tallied the eventual game-winning goal just over 11 minutes later. After receiving a pass from Julio Leon Garcia, Alexander Alleyne carried the ball down the left side. After reaching the penalty box, he slotted a left-footed shot into the lower right corner of the goal at the 16:16 mark for his third marker of the campaign.

Following back-and-forth play over the next 26 and one-half minutes, Le Moyne cut its deficit in half. From the left sideline, senior back Mark Gentile (Walworth, N.Y./Wayne) threw the ball into the box. Junior midfielder Rossel Cacho (Corozal La Ceiba, Honduras/Brighton (Mass.)/Bunker Hill C.C.) was able to head the ball to sophomore Seth Scarano (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane), who flicked a pass to the top of the goal box. Senior midfielder Nick Rauscher (Henrietta, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) got to the ball and slipped a shot underneath the goalkeeper with 2:02 left in the half for his third goal of the year.

Merrimack had a chance to push its lead back to two goals just under four minutes into the second half, but sophomore goalkeeper Ben Beaury (Cohoes, N.Y./LaSalle Institute) made a diving save to his right on a header by Augusto Silva.

Le Moyne's best chance to tie the score came midway through the second half. Off a corner kick from the right corner, redshirt senior midfielder Cal Filtch (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus), who had a goal and an assist in Le Moyne's 2-0 win over Merrimack on September 26, served the ball in front of the net. Senior back Jack Ball (Sunbury, Middlesex/Bishop Wand/Bryant & Stratton) headed the ball towards the middle of the goal, but Merrimack goalkeeper Lucas Rezende was able to make a leaping punch to keep his team in front.

In the 77th minute, Filtch fired a shot towards the goal, but his attempt hit off the goal post.

Beaury registered one save in each half in suffering his second straight loss between the pipes. Rezende tallied three of his four saves in the first half en route to picking up his 12t win of the season, which ties Beaury for the second-most in the conference. Le Moyne posted a 10-9 edge in shots, including 5-3 in the second half, while Merrimack recorded a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks, including 4-0 in the first half.

Le Moyne finishes the season with 12 wins and six losses for the second straight year, while adding a tie this season.