After getting their first win of the season against the University of Urbana on Sunday, the Slippery Rock University men’s soccer team was unable to overcome a four goal deficit in a 6-2 loss against the University of Charleston.
“You need to play good competition to see where your team is at, and see what level you want to be at,” SRU head coach Andy Hoggarth said. “It showed that we can do some good things, like scoring two quick goals in the second half. It shows that we can compete and we just need to work hard and start playing at that level for a full 90 minutes.”
The Golden Eagles, who are ranked sixth overall in Division II men’s soccer, had their first goal scored in the 18th minute by junior Augusto Maciel. Charleston’s sophomore forward Felipe Rafael Antonio scored their second goal to extend their lead to 2-0 14 minutes later, and junior forward Lewis Osborne scored Charleston’s third goal just before time expired in the first half.
After already trailing 3-0 at half time, the Rock allowed Charleston’s junior midfielder Jules Gabbiadini to score the team’s fourth goal five minutes into the second half.
The Green and White finally got on the board in the 56th minute when junior forward Peter Boylan scored his first goal of the season with a header, assisted by senior midfielder Brandon Chiu and senior forward Stephen Donnelly.
Donnelly then scored his first goal of the year five minutes later, set up by a through ball from sophomore midfielder Josh Allman.
Charleston added to their 4-2 lead in the 67th minute when freshman forward Kevin Faucht scored on a free kick just outside of the box. Lewis Osborne scored his second and Charleston’s final goal of the match with two minutes remaining in the game to set the final score 6-2.
Rock sophomore Steven Rerick was in net for the Green and White. Rerick allowed all six of Charleston’s goals, saving seven out of 13 shots.
SRU had a total of 10 shots during the match, six of them being on goal. Donnelly led the Rock with four shots, and Chiu added two shots, each of them being on goal. Senior defender Josh Brake, sophomore midfielder Mike Pcholinsky, Boylan, and junior forward Mike Ilodigwe each added one shot for SRU.
“We watched some film from Wednesday and picked out the things that we need to improve upon,” Hoggarth said. “You just have to draw a line under those things and use it as tool to get better. With a coach coming in and a group of experienced players there is definitely going to be a learning curve when the new coach brings in new strategies.”
SRU will play their next game in Amherst, New York on Sat. against Daemen College at 3 p.m. The team’s overall record now stands at 1-2.
