KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2025) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's soccer team earned a thrilling 3–2 non-conference victory over WestConn on Wednesday night at Bartoszek Field. The win improved the Mariners' record to 9-3-3, while the loss dropped the Wolves to 9-5-3.
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WestConn struck first in the ninth minute when Nickolas Santana converted a pass from Matthews Rocha to make it 1-0. The Blue and Gray quickly answered as junior Patrick Novotny (Fort Worth, Texas) buried the equalizer in the 17th minute off a feed from sophomore Robert Derwin (East Meadow, N.Y.) to tie the match at one apiece. Novotny struck again five minutes later with his team-leading eighth goal of the year, finishing off a beautiful right-footed cross from junior Andrew Jung (Fairfax, Va.) in the 21st minute to give the Mariners a 2-1 halftime advantage.
The Wolves leveled the match early in the second half when Jokin Martinez headed in a Jeffrey Norales cross off of a corner kick in the 49th minute. Derwin delivered the game-winner in the 55th minute, slotting home a rebound off a pass from senior John Germain (Cornwall, N.Y.) to put USMMA back in front 3-2. WestConn had one last opportunity to tie it up in the 73rd minute, but junior goalkeeper James Castoro (Garden City, N.Y.) denied a right-footed blast from Norales.
The Mariners' back line, anchored by senior Tyson Mallas (Los Angeles, Calif.) and freshman Jackson Justice (Winchester, Va.), locked down the final third to preserve the 3-2 win.
USMMA outshot WestConn 27-14, including 12-8 on goal, and earned a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks.
Junior goalkeeper Ethan Howell (Alexandria, Va.) made three saves in the first half. Classmate James Castoro (Garden City, N.Y.) added three stops over the final 45 minutes to earn his first career win. WestConn split time between two keepers. Starter Makai Smith made two first-half saves and Michael Arcuri registered seven stops in the second half.
Merchant Marine returns to action tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Skyline Conference action against St. Joseph's Brooklyn.
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