SETTERS FALL TO SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT IN NE-10 OPENER 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Setters dropped their opening game of their Northeast-10 Conference schedule, falling 27-10  to the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University. The Setters fall to 0-2 and open 0-1 in conference play, while the Owls improve to 1-2 and open 1-0 in the NE-10.

The Owls struck in the opening quarter as place kicker provided the first points of the day with a 21-yard field goal on Southern Connecticut's first offensive possession of the day. Southern Connecticut would add a Jarom Freeman 10-yard touchdown run later in the quarter. In the second quarter, quarterback Chris Roberts would toss a pair of touchdowns as the Owls would take a 24-0 lead over the Setters into halftime.

In the opening half, the Setters were limited to 63 yards of total offense compared to the 243 yards for Southern Connecticut.

The Setters got on the board midway through the third quarter as Ali Mourtada (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) booted a 37-yard field goal. The Owls would strike again late in the third as he connected on a 32-yard field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Pace put their lone touchdown on the board as Joe Romanick (Slidell, LA/Northshore) (Slidell, LA/Northshore) hit Eric Ortega (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) for a 41-yard touchdown play to slice the Owls lead to 27-10 with 12:49 left in the game.

For the game, the Setters would finish with nearly 200 yards of total offense, while the Owls totaled 421 yards.

Setter QB Ray Gregg (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) played the first half, going 7-for-15 for 47 yards, while Romanick played the majority of the second half, completing 6-of-13 for 85 yards. Nathaniel Ford (Queens, NY/Jamaica) (Queens, NY/Jamaica) led the Setters on the ground, finishing with 36 yards on 12 carries, while catches three passes for 16 yards. Ortega totaled four receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown.

On defense, Greg Brain (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) (Westtown, NY/Minisink Valley) led the Setters with a game-high 15 tackles, including two for losses. Andrew Lipski (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place/Iona College) (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place/Iona College) totaled 12 tackles, while Michael LaMonica (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South) (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South) tallied nine.

Pace returns to action for their home opener on Saturday, September 19 when the Setters will host the Hawks of Saint Anselm College in a Northeast-10 Conference battle set for a 12:00 pm kickoff.