Lucky's Strikes Send #25 Dartmouth Past Colgate, 2-0

Sunday, September 14

Hanover, N.H.

2:30 PM

Dartmouth College

Colgate

Lucky's Strikes Send #25 Dartmouth Past Colgate, 2-0

9/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. ? Dartmouth freshman forward Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) scored twice and the defense buckled down to secure a 2-0 victory over Colgate (3-1-2), the third-straight for the 25th-ranked Big Green.

The win gave #25 Dartmouth (3-1) the title at its own Nike/Hypertherm Classic in front of a great home crowd on what turned out to be a warm, sunny day. Mkosana was named the tournament's offensive MVP while sophomore Bryan Giudicelli (Emerald Hills, Calif.), who anchored the defense and scored twice on Friday, earned tournament defensive MVP honors.

Mkosana's third game-winner of the season gave the Big Green the lead midway through the first half, but his team would not have an insurance goal until he struck again in the 79th minute to pad the lead against an aggressive Colgate attack. For the game, Dartmouth held a narrow advantage in shots, just 13-12.

Colgate came out of the gates fast, firing three shots in the first three minutes. Just 1:23 into the game, Steven Miller broke away and had a chance to give his team the lead when Dartmouth goalkeeper Sean Milligan (Westport, Conn.) lost his footing. Somehow Milligan got back on his feet to make the point blank save. He followed it immediately with another stop of a shot by Chris Ross. The Raiders had another chance soon after when Glenn Volk tore away but defenders Donnie Surdoval (Sparta, N.J.) and Pumi Maqubela (Andover, Mass.) tracked him down to stop the attack.

The Big Green mounted a counterattack and Andrew Olsen (Norwell, Mass.) drew a hard foul on the left side about 12 yards out. Mkosana stepped up for the free kick and fooled Colgate keeper David Cappuccio with a low, hard shot that he buried in the left corner at 24:26.

Both teams had their chances in the balance of the half including another break by the Raiders, but Milligan made a big save on a rocket from Miller as the half was winding down to preserve the shutout, 1-0 at the half. Colgate outshot Dartmouth, 5-3, in the period.

The Raiders started the second half much like the first and Miller had his hopes dashed yet again just minutes in when he missed an open goal attempt just high from 20 yards out. Dartmouth countered with Mkosana's first attempt of the half, when he faked out the defense and beat Cappuccio one-on-one in the 51st minute. He fired from the right side at an open goal but Colgate's Jeff Leach slid in from the far side to make a great save.

The teams traded possessions and Colgate had several opportunities to tie the game. Dartmouth junior Derek Stenquist (Hudson, Mass.) nearly put it out of reach with a great header off a free kick that hit the crossbar in the 73rd minute. Mkosana's second goal came just five minutes later, however, to give the Green valuable insurance against the feisty Raiders. Maqubela cleared the ball up to Mkosana, who touched it to Maartan van Ess (Marlborough, Mass.) van Ess slipped it back to Mkosana who chipped it over the keeper's head and followed with a shot from the right side at 78:27.

The Big Green held tight for the next 12 minutes to maintain a clean sheet and win, 2-0, over the Raiders. Milligan finished with four saves in goal while Cappuccio made three.

Dartmouth will continue its homestand this Saturday when it hosts Hartwick at 3:00 p.m.