Fernandez leads Pioneers past Chesapeake

ARNOLD – The host Pioneers generated plenty of offensive opportunities, but had trouble converting those chances for the first 70 minutes of Tuesday evening's men's soccer game against Chesapeake College.

That all changed in the final 20 minutes.

Anne Arundel Community College exploded for five goals in the final 19:23, turning a nervous 2-1 lead into what became a 7-2 victory.  Alex Fernandez, whose first goal midway through the first half broke a 1-1 tie, slid a slow-roller inside the far right post to make it 3-1 and then set up Mike Kozlowski's goal for a 4-1 cushion.

Chesapeake pulled within 4-2 on an Andrew Harding goal, but Anne Arundel (5-9 overall, 2-7 Maryland JuCo) scored three goals in the final 7:58 to put away its second straight win.

"They (Chesapeake) played hard for as much as we were dominating play," said Anne Arundel head coach Nick Cosentino, whose team finished with a 31-6 shots advantage.  "Their goalie (Mace Davis – 14 saves) kept them in the game.  There were a couple of fluke goals in there – he certainly didn't deserve to give up seven goals."

"We played well for a period of time, but it deteriorated quickly," observed Chesapeake head coach Mark Dennis.  "We had to substitute on the back line because of injuries and that left us a little inexperienced on the back line."

Anne Arundel took a 1-0 lead on a Leonardo Elias goal less than five minutes into the game as Elias got free at the top of the penalty box and put a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.  The Skipjacks, however, tied the game with 29:26 left in the first half as Chris Bramble unloaded a long, hard shot that went just over the outstretched hands of AACC goalie Tyler Simpson and under the crossbar on just the second Chesapeake shot of the game.

Fernandez placed a hard grounder past Davis and into the far left corner of the Chesapeake goal just minutes later to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead.  And that's how the half ended despite Anne Arundel's 18-3 first-half shots advantage.

The first 10 minutes of the second half were played relatively evenly before Anne Arundel again began generating shots.  Davis came up with a pair of point-blank saves, defenseman Christian Vardaman saved a goal with a header off the goal line, and several defenders blocked Anne Arundel shots to keep the contest a one-goal game.

Chesapeake's best chance to tie came with 20:16 remaining in the game when Alejandro Tadeo's screaming liner off a free kick was caught by Simpson (four saves).  Less than a minute later, Fernandez scored his second goal and followed that up by assisting on Kozlowski's tally.

Harding's goal, pulling the Skipjacks (1-7, 1-7) within 4-2, came on a beautiful offensive play.  Harding drove the left wing and passed inside to Josh Harper, who then sent the ball back to Harding.  Harding then beat Simpson with a shot to the far right corner of the net.

Anne Arundel locked up the win with its late, three-goal flurry featuring goals from Kout Theil, Joe Kopp, and Ryan Mendoza.  Kopp and Mendoza scored 59 seconds apart in the last 2:13 of the game as six players scored the seven Pioneer goals.

"We had a lot of guys contribute today," noted Cosentino.

Chesapeake hosts Hagerstown Community College (9-7, 5-5) Friday at 3 p.m.