St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's soccer team took advantage of big opportunities on the field Sunday afternoon which led them to a 2-0 win against the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan College to conclude the SMDHOTELS.com Seahawk Classic.

The first half of the game was a fight for a first goal for both St. Mary's (2-3) and Virginia Wesleyan (3-2) with both being unable to finish. Virginia Wesleyan capitalized on the wind direction and had four shots on goal to St. Mary's one in the first half. However, the Seahawks came back fighting in the second half with seven shots on goal, including two which secured a Seahawk victory.

Junior midfielder Nick Tait (Silver Spring, Md./Sandy Spring Friends) kicked a perfect pass to sophomore forward Alessandro Burlew (Mount Airy, Md./Good Counsel) who took full advantage. The pass steered Burlew at the 54:08 mark to the goal with a shot that missed senior goalkeeper Connor Kirkham (Centreville, Va.)  as Kirkham dove for the save. Burlew improved to three goals for the season thus far and Tait raised his season total to three assists.

It was a physical game with 11 Seahawk fouls to 13 committed by Virginia Wesleyan. Tait aided the Seahawks by capitalizing on a foul inside the penalty box. At the 55:11 mark, Tait had a great penalty kick to the net to secure the win for St. Mary's. This bettered Tait to four goals for the season.

The defense showed great speed and physicality against a skilled Marlin offense. Sophomore goalkeeper Zack Haussler (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) contained Virginia Wesleyan in the goal by saving a game total of four shots.

The Seahawks will continue their season as they go on the road to take on McDaniel College on Wednesday, September 16 at 4:00 p.m.

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