By PAUL GOTHAM
The objective was a quick start.
Mission accomplished.
The Greece Arcadia Titans netted four first-half goals and a familiar combination played a role in a convincing 6-0 victory over the Aquinas Li’l Irish.
Senior Chris Collili scored in the first minute with an assist from Tyler Lewandowski. The duo, as they have frequently this season, combined again on a corner kick in the 26th minute.
“He was really helping me out today,” Collili said of his teammate. “I went to the near post and the ball came right over the top of the defender. I just finished it. It felt really good.”
The goal was the midfielder’s sixth of the season.
“I stayed at the 18 and checked near post. I’m short, so I’m not winning the ball anywhere else. Honestly, it was more the ball. It was a great ball, and I just ended up finishing it. I’m usually good with my head. I’m happy that it ended up working out.”
In between Collili’s tallies, Sergio Garcia found the back of the net off a free kick – the second set piece conversion in the first half.
“We spend a lot of time working on those in practice,” said Arcadia coach Matt Vergamini. “It’s nice to see when it pays off. It’s all about guys attacking the ball, wanting the ball more than the opposition. Today we won more.”
Lewandowski capped the half when he eluded a pair of defenders along the left side and finished opposite side netting.
“We came out and played very simple, quick and unselfish off the bat,” Vergamini noted. “We put a couple in and it made the game a little easier from that point forward.”
The win was the second straight for Arcadia after dropping two in a row and going winless for three consecutive.
“We’ve been talking about the fact that we’ve had slow starts for several games this season,” Vergamini said. “It’s cost us in a couple games. That’s been our focus the last week or so.”
Joe Esposito and Amadou Kante combined for the shutout – the second straight for Arcadia and fifth of the season.
“It was nice,” Collili said of the win. “They’re a good team. We looked at them and didn’t take them lightly. We scored a goal early. Just a great overall team overall. Play. It was a great team effort.”
Garcia struck for his second goal of the game in the second half. Tabor Monks rounded out the scoring with a left-footed blast from 30 yards away.
Lewandowski collected three assists. The junior leads the Titans with seven goals and four assists. Collili has six goals and two assists.
Aquinas played without starting goalkeeper Kyle Pero.
Arcadia (5-3-2) hosts Irondequoit on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Aquinas (5-4-0) will play at East Rochester on Monday. A 7 p.m. start is scheduled.
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