By Alexandra Parado
Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team underwent two losses this week, ending its undefeated record and resuming the season with a new record of 7-2.
The Lions faced Drew University on Wednesday, Sept. 19 and Ramapo College on Saturday, Sept. 22. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t break the ties and fell to both teams after fighting to win during overtime.
The Lions suffered their first loss of the season against Drew with a final score of 4-3.
It was a slow game, but the Lions took the lead with a goal in the 20th minute of the game. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Vazquez scored his ninth goal of the season thanks to an assist by senior midfielder Nick Sample. Drew quickly responded and performed a three-goal streak during a seven-minute span.
Drew led 3-1 until Vazquez struck again with 14 minutes left in the game. Junior midfielder Michael Maltese sent the ball to Vazquez who took a shot that went past the keeper, making it a 3-2 game. About ten minutes later, Vazquez dashed in front of the net again for a hat trick.
During overtime, Drew scored off a header shot nine minutes in, breaking the 3-3 tie, unfortunately giving the College its first loss of the season.
Despite the loss, Vazquez now has 11 goals this season and sophomore goalkeeper Michael Kayal collected five saves against Drew.
On Saturday, the College was not capable of getting a lead and suffered another defeat, this time by Ramapo with a final score of 2-1 after overtime.
Ramapo put itself on the scoreboard 23 minutes into the game. The Lions were unable to score in the first half, but sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Mecadon blocked three shots to keep the score at 1-0 to close the first half of the game.
In the second half, Ramapo did not score any additional goals. Instead, sophomore defender Matthew Nastarowicz received a beautiful pass from Sample which he punched into the net, resulting in a tied game of 1-1, forcing the close game into overtime.
With under three minutes left in overtime, Ramapo was given a penalty kick which led to their final goal, closing the game and leaving the Lions in defeat.
The team hopes to recuperate from last week’s losses and prevail this week when they get on the road to face two New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents.
On Wednesday, Sept. 26, the team will challenge Rutgers University-Camden in Camden, New Jersey at 7 p.m. The following Saturday, Sept. 29, the Lions will travel to Wayne, New Jersey to go against William Paterson University for a contest scheduled for 5 p.m.
