Men's Soccer Senior Day Spoiled By Late Sarah Lawrence Strike

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In a matchup between two teams jockeying for their first Skyline Conference victories, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team erased an early 2-0 deficit scoring two quick goals before the intermission. But despite doubling up Sarah Lawrence College in shots, 27-13, the Bears came up short against Sarah Lawrence College, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Aviator Field.

The Basics

• Final Score: Sarah Lawrence St. Joseph's 2
• Records: Sarah Lawrence (5-7, 1-7), St. Joseph's (1-13-1, 0-8)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. — Aviator Field #2

How It Happened

• The Gryphons drew first blood in the 21st minute as Colin Berg and George Scott used two quick passes to find Dominic Edwards in front of goal, one-touching a shot into the empty ride side of net.
• The visitors jumped ahead 2-0 in the 31st minute as a long punt from Sarah Lawrence keeper Mehran Hicks carried into the Bears box on one bounce, and with Julian Rodriguez going up to get the ball drew some contact but no foul was called and the ball dropped loose for Berg to put into an empty net, with Rodriguez left laying on the turf.
• The Bears finally got on board eight minutes later when Daniel Goncalves slipped a ball to Kenneth Garcia 10 yards in front of the top of the box and took one dribble and fired a high shot over a helpless Hicks just under the crossbar.
• St. Joseph's managed to find the equalizer less than three minutes later when Mateusz Georges spun around his defender to gain the left side of the box and was tripped up from behind to earn a penalty kick. Senior Cesar Oviedo calmly converted his first attempt of the season for his first goal to knot the game up at 2-all.
• The second stanza saw 30 minutes of scoreless play and several good SJC scoring opportunities just missing the target. But the visitors found the game-winner in the 76th minute after George Scott passed a ball from left to right to leading scorer Camary Jonas who slipped a shot under Rodriguez coming off his line.
• The Bears finished with a 14-6 shot advantage in the second stanza and played a man up for the final seven minutes, but couldn't find the equalizer.

For the Bears

• Garcia's goal was his team-leading sixth of the season.
• Oviedo's tally was the 11th of his career. He is third all-time in team history in the category.
• With his first assist of the season, Goncalves notched this fifth point, ranking second on the team.

The Bear Facts

• The Bears see their three-game undefeated streak in the series snapped. The Gryphons lead 2-4-1 all-time.
• The team honored seniors Luay Alyass, Pandeli Mano, Cesar Oviedo, and Michael Ortiz prior to the game.
• Michael Ortiz made his 58th career start and 61st appearance extending his program record in both categories.

Next Up for the Bears

• St. Joseph's will wrap up their second season under Head Coach Ovid Cusu on Wednesday (Oct. 25) heading to SUNY College at Old Westbury for a 3 p.m. Skyline Conference showdown. Live stats will be available on SJCBears.com.