North Andover, MA – For the second time this week, the Adelphi University men's soccer team upended a nationally ranked team with a 3-2 win at 24th ranked Merrimack this evening in a crucial Northeast-10 Conference contest. Senior Juan Aguiar notched the hat trick, his second of the season, in the regular season finale.

Aguiar scored two goals within the first 27 minutes to put the Panthers (11-5-1/9-4 NE-10) up 2-0. He quickly scored in the fourth minute, finishing a feed from Federico De Oliveira. Following 23 minutes later, the senior struck after Caelen Hueber initially hit the crossbar on a shot and Diego Zuniga had his attempt blocked in front of the net.

With less than five minutes left in the first period, the Warriors (12-3-2/8-3-2 NE-10) cut the lead in half at 2-1 as Michael Dushman swung with his right foot from a wide angle on the right side of the box to place his shot inside the left post. Joseph Briers pushed the ball ahead to give Dushman the attempt.

Entering the halftime break, Adelphi controlled a 7-5 lead in shot attempts while Merrimack was up 3-1 in corners. Jose Silva made one save in net for the Warriors.

Aguiar completed the hat trick in the 72nd minute by way of the penalty kick after a Merrimack foul in the box during a throw in from deep in Panther territory. The Warriors nearly responded less than two minutes later, however, Julio Leon Garcia's direct kick attempt hit the crossbar.

The hosts eventually scored their second goal as Mattia Lazni headed in the tally off a Michael Buraczynski throw in during the 84th minute. The Brown and Gold defense stood up the rest of the way to clinch the 3-2 victory despite pressure from the Merrimack attack.

Senior Ahmad Salamah made two saves in the effort as Merrimack controlled the shot count 15-10 as well as a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.

"It's always great to go on the road and get a result," said Head Coach Carlo Acquista. "Merrimack is an extremely talented and organized team. We will rest and move forward and prepare for our next opponent on Tuesday."

Both teams await the final results of the conference standings, with league games still being played tonight and tomorrow, to see their positioning in the upcoming NE-10 Championships. Quarterfinal round action is scheduled to begin Tuesday, November 4.