NEW LONDON, Conn-- Senior John DiTommaso scored with less than one minute remaining to give Coast Guard men's soccer a 1-0 victory over archrival Merchant Marine in the Bears' home-opener on Friday evening. The Bears hold an 8-1-1 advantage over the Mariners in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

With the win, Coast Guard earns its first point in the Superintendents' Trophy race for the 2022-23 academic year.

Coast Guard improves to 3-0 on the season, while the Mariners drop to 1-2-1.

The Bears held a 16-9 advantage in shots and kept the pressure on the Mariner's defense in the final few minutes of play.

With 57 seconds left in the game, DiTommaso picked up a deflection off a Mariner defender and put away his first goal of the season and second career game-winner to solidify the Bears' 1-0 victory.

Coast Guard senior goalkeeper John Vaaler made four saves for his second shutout of the season.

The Bears are back in action on Tuesday, September 13 at 7 PM on the road at Salve Regina.