Men's Soccer Falls 2-0 Against St. Joe's
Dean College fell 2-0 to Saint Joseph's College of Maine in men's soccer at Longley Field on Saturday, but the Bulldogs held the Monks scoreless for 64 minutes and kept fighting until the final whistle.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, with Saint Joseph's getting the early looks. Corners in the thirteenth and sixteenth minutes and shots from Nick Marion and Zander Haskell kept the pressure on. Goalie Noah Amaral answered with saves in the twelfth, twenty-first, and twenty-seventh minutes to keep it level.
Dean had its chances too with Ciaran Phibbs testing the keeper in the twenty-fifth minute, and James Jennings forced another save just before the break. It was 0-0 at halftime.
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Amaral kept the Bulldogs in it early in the second half with saves in the fifty-first, fifty-fifth and fifty-eighth minutes. Saint Joseph's finally broke through in the sixty-fifth minute, when Hayes Sweeney took a shot and scored from outside the top of the eighteen-yard box for his first goal of the season off an assist from Damir Brkic. The Monks added another in the seventy-ninth minute when Godin Ndayishimiye cut inside from the left wing and slotted the ball in the bottom left corner of the net. That goal sealed the deal for the Monks.
Dean never stopped pushing with Austin Clark and Maxi Del Castillo each forced saves late, with Clark's shot in the eighty-fourth minute and Del Castillo's in the eighty-seventh both stopped by Alex Bachmann.
The Bulldogs outshot the Monks 8-6 in the second half and finished with 14 shots to Saint Joseph's 16.
Even though the Bulldogs lost, the score does not tell the story. Clark’s performance was good enough to win man of the match win or loss. Clark’s duels in the midfield helped the Bulldogs keep pushing. Phibbs and Del Castillo also stood out in a physical game, and Clark picked up a yellow card in the sixty-fifth minute. Then, goalscorer Damir Brkic picked a yellow card up for himself in the seventy seventh minute.
Despite the result, Bulldogs Head Coach Joe Dincecco commended the group for the way they competed and said he was proud of the effort. "If we keep pushing, a win will come," said Dincecco.
The locker room is staying confident. "Once we get our first, things are going to get better," said John Pordage.
Dean College looks to keep building when it returns to action quickly on Monday, Oct 5th at 3pm home at Longley against Norwich University.
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