Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (9/5/2019) – Chestnut Hill College opened the 2019 season in victorious fashion as a set of second-half goals helped the Griffins overcome Stonehill College in a 3-1 final. Senior defenseman Paris Bruhn (Horst Holstein, Germany) was the star of the contest for the Scarlet and Gold, netting the game-winner on a free kick at 57:16 and locating senior defenseman Andrew Johnstone (Liverpool, England) for an insurance tally at 61:12.  
 
Stonehill College (0-1) came out ahead after the early back-and-fourth, using a pair of shots from senior midfielder Ryan Chieffo (North Haven, Conn.) and a successful rebound from senior midfielder Makenzie Hoglund (Portland, Maine) to grab the early 1-0 (10:37) advantage. The Shyhawks held that lead through halftime, but quickly relinquished the momentum as a series of fouls provided Chestnut Hill College (1-0) with some quality opportunities. At 51:18, a Skyhawk foul at the top of the goal box awarded senior midfielder Pedro Dutra (Passos, Brazil) a penalty kick, which he promptly converted to even the score at 1-1. Continued pressure rewarded the Scarlet and Gold with another premium restart just six minutes later. At 57:16, Bruhn was the beneficiary of the call, converting the free kick to give Chestnut Hill College a 2-1 advantage. Insurance came four minutes later (61:12) as a long Bruhn serve from the right side met Johnstone's oncoming head and sailed past the Skyhawk goalkeeper to improve Chestnut Hill College's advantage to 3-1. The Griffin defense limited Stonehill College's chances over the remaining 28:48 and those that did make it through we easily turned aside by senior goalkeeper Frank Maniscalco (Philadelphia, Pa.).
 
Hoglund (4 shots) and Chieffo (3) combined for seven of the Skyhawks' 11 shots. Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Hammersley (Garden City, N.Y.) (0-1) totaled 10 saves in the loss.
 
Chestnut Hill College owned a 24-11 shot advantage by game's end, improving a slight 9-8 first half margin with 15 second half shots. Bruhn led the effort with six shots. Dutra and junior Miguel Marra (Ossining, N.Y.) offered four apiece, while Johnstone offered a pair of headers. Three others accounted for the remaining three shots. Maniscalco (1-0) totaled seven saves in the win.
 
Chestnut Hill College returns to Victory Field #1 on Saturday, September 7, when they host East Stroudsburg University in a 1:00 p.m. contest.