Chris McCree
Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team recorded its first league loss this weekend at American in a tight defensive contest ending in a 1-0 loss for the Orange and Blue. The Bison out shot the Eagles 13-4, but a 44th minute scramble between goalie Mike Lansing ’16 and American’s Dale McDonald resulted in the game’s lone goal.
“The difference between winning and losing a Patriot League game is so small,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “We made the one necessary play to win at Lehigh, and American made the one necessary play this past weekend. It can be frustrating to have a game decided on just one play, but that is what makes the Patriot League so special.”
Holding the Eagles to just two shots for the majority of the first half, the Orange and Blue surrendered its only goal off of a long pass resulting in a mad dash between Lansing and McDonald. Arriving just before Lansing could get his hands on the ball, McDonald was able to poke it by, giving the Eagles the lead right before halftime.
In the second half, the Bison continued to pressure the Eagles defense, recording seven of its 13 shots and earning four corner kicks. Despite their efforts, the Bison could not find the back of the net and saw their regular season losing-streak against American increase to four years.
“I am really not sure there is much to improve upon from this past weekend,” Nash said. “We executed our game plan and held AU to just four shots on their home field.”
For the game, Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and CK Kumah ’13 led the Bison with four and three shots, respectively. The Orange and Blue’s best attempt came off of a breakaway from Burgdorf, but his shot sailed just over the crossbar. The Bison also had three shots denied by the posts and five stopped by the American goalkeeper.
“We just have to make sure we do not let the loss affect us mentally,” Nash said. “There is still a lot of PL soccer yet to play, and we have not even played a home league match yet. So the student-athletes just need to keep working hard to improve and I believe things will work out in the long term.”
The team will host Navy this weekend at Emmitt Field tomorrow at 2 p.m.