Goba gives Salve Regina three late goals to secure 4-0 win over Mass. Maritime

NEWPORT, R.I. - Freshman striker Daniel Goba (North Kingstown, R.I.) scored three goals in a seven-minute span late in the second half as Salve Regina University men's soccer defeated Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 4-0, in non-league action at Toppa Field on Tuesday night. The Seahawks improve to 5-4-0 overall and conclude a four-game home stand.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Salve Regina 4, Mass. Maritime 0
Records: Salve Regina (5-4-0), Mass. Maritime (1-5-2)
All-Time Series: The Seahawks improve to 11-3-0 all-time against the Buccaneers and have won eight straight in the series. The teams were split (3-3-0) in the first six meetings from 1988 through 1994. Since the series resumed in 2013, head coach Craig O'Rourke II remains unbeaten and untied with his squads facing Mass. Maritime.

SUMMARY:

• 35:26 - Emmet Schuele (1) blasted in a shot that had deflected off Samuel Zawaly for the game's only first-half score. | Salve Regina 1, Mass. Maritime 0
• 80:40 - Daniel Goba (2) took a feed from Michael Manousos to provide some lat breathing room. | Salve Regina 2, Mass. Maritime 0
• 86:25 - Daniel Goba (3) took another through pass in the middle from Michael Manousos to extend the lead. | Salve Regina 3, Mass. Maritime 0
• 87:53 - Daniel Goba (4) converted a Jordan Borges cross for his hat trick. | Salve Regina 4, Mass. Maritime 0

NOTEWORTHY:

• Junior keeper Gabriel Bazikas got his first start in net for the Seahawks and went 90 minutes for the shutout while making two saves.
• Salve Regina had a five to three edge in shots in the first half before exploding for 21 second-half shots.
• The Buccaneers created one more corner kick opportunity than their hosts, three to two.

POSTGAME THOUGHTS FROM COACH O'ROURKE

"With tonight's match being a non-conference game for us, we had a definite mindset that we wanted to spread out the match minutes across the entire roster as much as possible and give some guys a chance to perform under match-conditions with a live opponent. Mass. Maritime is typically a very physically fit and highly organized team as Coach Perry is frankly one of the best coaches in the region – he gets more out of his players than many in our profession, myself included. I thought we started relatively well in the first half in terms of getting on the ball and progressing through the first two-thirds of the field, but at times our possession lacked purpose and we were not able to unbalance their shape or expose the space in behind them. We were stagnant for stretches of the match and really the first break-through came as a result of Schuele's strike from 22-yards. But at halftime, we made some minor adjustments and told the squad to play a little more deliberate and go at their goal with more energy and pace. This allowed us to get up the field quicker and produce more attempts on their frame. Eventually this paid off as Daniel Goba came on and showed the quality that he is capable of. Each of his goals was well executed – both in terms of his off-the-ball movement to get into dangerous pockets of space as well as the technical quality of the final touch that he applied. Him finding his form and scoring touch will be pivotal for us during the second half of the season."

ON THE HORIZON:
The Seahawks travels to the alma mater of head coach Craig O'Rourke II, WPI, for a Saturday afternoon NEWMAC matchup with the Engineers (4:30 p.m.).