Men’s Soccer Picks Up 2-0 Senior Day Shutout Over Cornerstone

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DETROIT — A second clean sheet for sophomore keeper Ayman Youssef and fourth shutout for the defense led Marygrove men’s soccer to a 2-0 victory over the visiting Cornerstone Golden Eagles on Saturday (Oct. 24) in Detroit. In a battle of teams with identical WHAC records, the Mustangs emerged victorious to earn sole possession of third place in the league after stymying the Golden Eagles (7-8-1, 5-3-1 WHAC) all afternoon.

The Mustangs improved to 9-6-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the WHAC with the two-goal win on Senior Day, earning three more points to move to 19 in conference play.

One of seven seniors, forward Abdoulie Jallow (Bansang, The Gambia/Rust College) tallied what would be the game-winning goal in the 15th minute after a nice give-and-go with fellow senior Oneil Robinson set up a tap-in from inside the box. After the two-on-one advantage, Robinson (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Cornwall College) struck a ball that was clipped by Golden Eagle keeper Nick Hopkins and later sent home by Jallow off the rebound.

The goal gave the Mustangs a lead that they would never relinquish as the defense held the Golden Eagles to two shots – none on goal – through the entire first half.

Sophomore Mohammed Alkhulaidi (Sana’a, Yemen/Michigan-Dearborn) padded the Mustangs lead in the 42nd minute with a backwards flick to send an Ali El Habhab centering ball into the back of the net. Alkhulaidi’s beauty of a goal lifted the Mustangs lead to 2-0 as senior defender [Ali] El Habhab earned the assist on the scoring play.

Alkhulaidi’s tally before the halftime break would end the scoring for the day as the Mustangs’ defense took over from there to secure the win.

In the second half, the Golden Eagles were able to push forward a bit, but only advanced past the defense for one shot on goal – which was saved by Youssef to secure his second shutout of the season. The Golden Eagles recorded seven shots on the day (one on goal) compared to the Mustangs’ 10 shots (five on goal).

Hopkins saved three shots for the Golden Eagles in net but was under pressure most of the day as the Mustangs played a well-rounded, sound match in front of their Senior Day crowd.

The Mustangs backline of El Habhab, Talal Hamodi (Dearborn Heights, Mich./Crestwood High School), Ma Sambou Jatta (Brufut, The Gambia/Schoolcraft College) and Jeff Okerstrom (Redford, Mich./Redford Union High School) stood tall once again, earning shutout number four of the 2015 campaign.

The third-place Mustangs visit Madonna on Wednesday (Oct. 28) for a 4 p.m. conference match in Livonia, Mich. Live stats will be available via Madonna University.

NOTEWORTHY: With the two first-half goals, the Mustangs have now outscored the opposition 23-8 in the first half this season … four shutouts ties for the second-most in a single season (2013) and is three behind the program record of seven set in 2010 … Jallow’s game-winning tally in the 15th minute was the 11th match-clinching goal of his career … Alkhulaid’s goal was his second of the season … 

SENIOR DAY: After the match, the Mustangs honored the career of seven seniors: Haider Alzayadi, Gaoussou Cisse, Moussa Diallo, Ali El Habhab, Abdoulie Jallow, Khalid Suleiman and Oneil Robinson … entering the week, the seniors accounted for a great portion of the Mustangs’ production in 2015 (see infographic below) …

MEN’S SOCCER CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected]/* */ | @tjohnston56
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