Tech, Chelsea remain tied for lead in CAC after 3-3 tie

LYNN – Tech and Chelsea, the two soccer powerhouses of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference, met for the first time this year at Manning Field on Monday. The result was a 3-3 tie that kept both squads tied for the lead in the CAC. Chelsea, last year’s soccer champion, had a 2-0 record coming into the game while Tech was 2-0 in the league and 3-1 overall.Tech coach Fred Gallo said before the game, “Our younger players have been carrying us; now is the time for the juniors and seniors to step up.”The game was only six minutes old when a Tech defender tripped a Chelsea player deep in the corner of the area. The referee awarded a penalty shot. The shot was taken by Hilcias Palencia Maldonado. He beat Tech freshman keeper Jose Alas low to the right and made the score Chelsea 1, Tech 0.As the first half wound down, the wind intensified to where it played a big factor for the rest of the game. Both teams now kept the ball on the ground. Hugo Erazo of Chelsea and Gustavo Rodriguez of Tech are masters of the dribble and the blind pass to a breaking striker.Francisco Franco, Tech’s leading scorer, was covered by a single Chelsea defender who never left him for a minute. He was marked all over the field. Chelsea was able to shut him down for most of the game, but like all good scorers, he found a way to get involved in the critical parts of the game. With less than one minute to go before halftime, Klaus Alexis took the ball down the right wing, turned the defender and shot the ball. The ball went between the keeper, Ever Barrera, and the post ? and went across the goalmouth to Tech freshman Emmerson Imul, who had a two-foot putt to re-direct the ball into the net. With 15 seconds to go, Tech tied the game at 1-1.The second half started with Tech having the wind at its back. It didn’t help. In the 48th minute, Maldonado put a through ball from just over midfield up the middle, where Elvin Merino ran onto the ball, took two dribbles and blasted a shot from the arc that beat the Tech keeper low left. This made the score Chelsea 2, Tech 1.Chelsea pushed the score to 3-1 in the 71st minute. Maldonado took a throw-in down the right wing, beat the wing defender, cut into the top of the area and unleashed a rocket that hit the top right corner.However, Coach Gallo’s team never quit. In the 77th minute, with 3 minutes to play, Gustavo Rodriguez had the ball 35 yards from the goal. Instead of passing the ball, he fired a shot at the Chelsea net that caught the Chelsea keeper flat-footed, and the ball went in over his head.With less that one minute to go, Franco stole a clearing pass and put Edwin Alas in down the left wing. He cut towards the goal and shot the ball from about 25 yards out. It found the top far corner and the score was tied at 3-3. Twenty seconds later, the final whistle blew.After the game, Gallo had a huge grin on his face and could only say, “Our kids never quit. We came together as a team today. All the credit to Chelsea. They played a terrific game.”Chelsea coach Mickey Milutinovic said, “This was a great game. We have many young players who are getting a lot of playing time. Lynn Tech played a great game.”Tech’s record is now 3-1-1 (2-0-1 CAC). Chelsea’s record is 2-0-1.