By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s men’s soccer team fell to No. 12 Messiah University and Shenandoah University in their first two games of the season on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, respectively. The two games were played as part of the Turk Emekli Classic, hosted by Catholic University in Washington D.C.
The Lions played their first game of the season against a very talented Messiah University on Friday, Sept. 1. Messiah came into the game as the 12th ranked Division III team in the country and is one of only two nationally ranked teams on the College’s schedule this season.
In the first half of the game, the Lions were able to hold their own. They were unable to get any shots off, but the defense did their part and did not break. Messiah took nine corners in the first half, but on the back of two saves by senior goalie Julian Franco, the game went into halftime as a scoreless tie.
Messiah was finally able to break through the College’s defense in the second half. They put up four goals, with three of them coming in a five-minute span. Franco was able to add two more saves that half, bringing his total on the game up to four, but ultimately, the Lions suffered a 4-0 defeat to start the season in a game that was dominated by their opponent.
There was a less-than-24-hour turnaround to the next game for the College, who on Sept. 2 played their second game of the Turk Emekli Classic, this time against Shenandoah University.
This game got off to a much quicker start, with senior forward Luke Pascarella being shown a yellow card in the third minute. Not much later, in the 14th minute, Shenandoah took a 1-0 lead. The Lions fought hard for the rest of the half, outshooting Shenandoah 11-9 and also getting more corner kicks than them, but the 1-0 scoreline held through the end of the first half.
The second half started off with some more back-and-forth play, until in the 61st minute, when freshman midfielder Matias Hornos scored his first goal for the College to tie the game at one a piece.
When asked about scoring his first collegiate goal, Hornos, an engineering management major, said, “It was a very exciting moment for me, but the game was still even at 1-1. We had to continue to work hard for the win.”
This goal lit a fire under the Lions, and the game heated up after it, but just 12 minutes later, Shenandoah scored what would end up being the game-winning goal to put the score at 2-1.
Looking ahead, the College goes to Muhlenberg University on Wednesday, Sept. 6, and then will play two more games in the Brick City Classic on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10. Their first home game will be against RPI on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
