Blazers Kick Off Their Season with a 2-0 Win Against the Fitchburg State Falcons

FITCHBURG, MA –  Blazers men's soccer begin their season with a victory on the road. The Blazers beat the Fitchburg State Falcons 2-0 at Elliot Field yesterday afternoon.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Elms 2

Records: Fitchburg State (0-1) | Elms (1-0)

1st Half How It Happened

Falcons started off strong with a shot on goal in the first two minutes of the game by sophomore Christopher Contrera (Holbrook, MA). Blazers senior goalie Collin Liedke (Newington, CT) stops the shot and quickly the game is moved to the Falcons defensive twenty five (25). Blazers scored the first goal of the 2022 season when there was havoc created around the net. The ball popped loose and Blazers  sophomore  Jimmy Maznicki (Ellington, CT) took a shot. The Falcons defender blocked the ball when senior Hunter Miket (Torrington, Conn.) collected the rebound in the box and deposited the ball past senior goalie Collin Robson (North Billerica, Mass.) for the early lead. Junior Michael Dima (Oxford, Conn.) collected the assist. The Blazers continued to hound the Falcons goal, soon doubling their lead at the 7:18 mark. Goal was scored by senior Musa Jiana (Chicopee, MA) assisted by senior Alex Szarkowski (Belchertown, MA), making it 2-0 lead

The Falcons had multiple scoring opportunities, but nothing was getting past Blazers defense and goalie Liedke.

1st half by the numbers:

Shots: Blazers (12), Falcons (9)

Corner Kicks: Blazers (2), Falcons (2)

Saves: Blazers (5), Falcons (3)

Fouls: Blazers (7), Falcons (4)

2nd Half How It Happened

Blazers forward Noah Jaques kicks off the second half with a shot on goal, but unfortunately goes wide. The Falcons stayed up within the Blazers defensive end, ripping multiple shots to climb goalie Liedke's saves by five within 10 minutes of play.  The Blazers defense stays strong and Liedke keeps the score at a 2-0 lead for the rest of the game. Men's Soccer leaves Eliot Field with a victory Thursday afternoon.

2nd half by the numbers:

Shots: Blazers (5), Falcons (15)

Corner Kicks: Blazers (1), Falcons (5)

Saves: Blazers (10), Falcons (1)

Fouls: Blazers (4), Falcons (5)

"The lads really came together and put on a great performance from top to bottom" Blazers assistant coach Tyler Hesselton had to say about the game. He continued with, " Our Program was thrilled about the birth of head coach Mike Wysocki's son prior to the game. Our team wanted to make sure we took care of business and welcome our newest member of the family by playing OUR brand of soccer and getting a result. We were able to seal the game by playing defense, moving the ball, and some great saves by our keeper. Overall, it was not a perfect game but was an important building block for the rest of the season."

Up Next

The Blazers head to Western New England on Sunday September 4th for a 10AM game. You can watch the livestream and stats at ecblazers.com