By Fiona Espinoza-Castro
Correspondent
The College’s men’s soccer team is off to a challenging start to the season with a 0-2-2 record in their first four games. This mirrors a similarly tough start from last season when they opened with three losses and one win, finishing their first four matches, 1-3-0.
The Lions hosted the Classic this past weekend, featuring Farmingdale State College, Union College and Rutgers University-Newark. In their first game, the Lions drew with Farmingdale State, followed by a loss against Union College. Despite the home field advantage, the team is still searching for their first win of the season as they navigate under Coach PJ Ringel’s first year here.
Game One
The Lions first played on Saturday, Sep. 7, against Farmingdale State College but were unable to score despite several shots on goal, however, they managed to scrape by with a draw. In the first half, sophomore civil engineering major and goalie Logan Gebhart made key saves early on.
The team had an opportunity, with a corner kick by sophomore kinesiology and health sciences major Lucas Sample, later followed by a header shot from the senior captain criminology major Mike Garofalo, which hit the crossbar. The Rams responded with a corner kick and a header sent wide by Olvin Yanes.
The match saw several fouls as sophomore secondary education mathematics major Sam Snyder received a yellow card. Farmingdale sent Rafael Castro to take the penalty, scoring in the 14th minute, putting the Rams ahead. The Lions could not equalize before halftime, Farmingdale was up in shots, with ten and the Lions with five.
During the second half, now more energized, their breakthrough arrived. In the 85th minute sophomore marketing major Pablo Argueta scored his first career goal for the Lions, assisted by sophomore engineering management major Matia Hornos, who also marked his first career assist.
The match between the Lions and Rams ended in a tie, marking the College’s second draw in a row after last Saturday’s game against Salisbury University ended 2-2.
Game Two
For the finale of the classic, on Sunday, Sep. 8, the Lions faced off against Union College, conceding late and ultimately losing 1-0. Throughout the tournament, the team depended on the senior class and rising sophomore stars.
Freshman accounting major Jack Smyth attempted to score in the first half, however, it was saved by Union’s goalkeeper, Jacob Perry. Meanwhile, senior criminology major Colin Rentner made two key saves, including blocking Union’s Wyatt Goldfisher’s shot. The first half finished scoreless after Snyder missed a header with both teams having five shots each.
As the second half began, Union held dominance unlike the battle in the first half, as they had 12 shots on target compared to just four for the College. Matias Hornos set up several chances, but his key pass to junior accounting major Massimo Rodio, that would have given the Lions the upper hand, was sent wide of the net by Rodio.
Union’s Gio Capellino was fouled by Snyder, allowing Union to score a penalty kick in the 82nd minute. As time ran out and although the number of chances the Lions created was impressive, they were unable to score. Rodio ended up receiving a red card late in the game.
Union College secured the win, leaving the Lions with their second defeat of the season. The College continues to be in tight matches and will look to secure their first victory of the young season on Sept. 14 at home against Stevens Institute of Technology.
