American University men’s soccer (3-4-4) lost to the Colgate Raiders (6-8-1) 2-1 in a game at Reeves FIeld on Oct. 14. Rainy conditions did not stop fans from showing up, as it was both Doug Dugan and Alumni Day for the Eagles and Family Weekend at American.
The game started off with high pressure from the Raiders’ offense. The slippery conditions from the rain led to some misdirected passes early-on.
“The rain made it a little tougher to play, obviously. The wet surface made [the ball] quicker,” junior forward Sam Hershey said. “It made it a little trickier, with everything skipping, but Reeves is a nice field, so we should have still been able to be effective.”
Frustration from both teams was apparent, with Colgate midfielder Mason Pahule receiving a yellow card in the 13th minute for intentionally kicking the ball out of bounds after he got a handball penalty.
Despite these challenges, the Eagles’ offense gained possession and created an opportunity to score. Senior forward Robbie Matei crossed the ball right in front of the goal, which landed at the feet of junior defender Taku Takahashi, who punched the ball into the back of the net for his first goal as an Eagle, bringing the score to 1-0 in the 24th minute.
Six minutes later, Colgate defender Ryan Leask received the second yellow card of the game for fouling junior midfielder Zemi Rodriguez. Colgate’s offense quickly responded to American’s scoring play just three minutes after the card when forward Aidan Davock passed to midfielder Alejandro Coury, who took a powerful shot that landed in the top left corner of the goal, tying the game.
Just before the end of the half, junior midfielder Leo Palomo received the third yellow card for fouling a Colgate player on a breakaway towards the goal, and the first half ended 1-1.
The rain affected the game further in the second half for American. The half opened with the fourth yellow card of the game on Takahashi for fouling Coury. Ten minutes later, senior defender Cooper Nunn passed the ball back to senior goalkeeper Lorenzo Gordon in an attempt to switch the field. The easy, uncontested pass slipped right under Gordon’s foot and American scored an own goal, giving Colgate a 2-1 lead.
The rest of the game remained scoreless, and ended in a loss for American. Head coach Zach Samol still thought the team played a good game, given the circumstances.
“I think [the team] did everything well today. It’s a cruel game that we play; soccer’s not fair sometimes,” Samol said. “I think we created good chances today, I think we played good soccer today, I think we played with great tempo today, I thought we repressed them really well today… the goals just changed the game.”
The Eagles host the Navy Midshipmen on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. and hope to get their first win against a Patriot League team this season.
This article was edited by Penelope Jennings, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Isabelle Kravis and Olivia Citarella.
