On a warm and sunny day at Ambler Sports Complex, the men’s soccer team hosted the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. Although the Owls (2-3-1) scraped by, edging the Peacocks (2-6), with a 2-1 victory, coach David Macwilliams was frustrated with the performance.
“I think we did pretty well in the first half. The second half, I’m not happy with,” he said.
Throughout the first half of the match, the Owls possessed the ball well and led the Peacocks by a score of 1-0 at halftime. Senior midfielder Cody Calafiore found the back of the net during the 14th minute. The goal was assisted by freshman Jared Martinelli.
Martinelli noted that the team got the result they wanted, but they didn’t play well toward the end of the match.
“We gave up a goal and [the game] was closer than it should’ve been,” he said.
A little more than 20 minutes into the match, Martinelli was taken down in the away team’s box, giving the Owls a penalty kick. Calafiore stepped up to the line and fired a shot that was saved by Peacock goalkeeper Carlos Suarez, keeping the Owls up by just one goal.
All throughout the first half, the Owls appeared to be pressuring the Peacocks well. And with only ten minutes until halftime, the Owls were determined to hold on to their one-goal lead.
During the team’s rest at halftime, coach MacWilliams said he had been pleased with the team’s performance.
“I thought we played well; we just need to finish our chances,” he said. “I’ve been in too many games where you have a lot of chances and you don’t finish them, and it comes back to haunt you. It almost happened again today.”
When the Owls came out for the second half, they appeared to be fired up. An early second half goal by redshirt-sophomore forward Chas Wilson, the team’s leading scorer, gave the Owls an edge over the Peacocks. Wilson’s goal was assisted by junior Vaughn Spurrier.
Owls junior goalkeeper Bobby Rosato made five saves, but was kept from having a clean sheet in the 67th minute.
After the Owls were dispossessed by the Peacocks’ Luca de Stasio, the Saint Peter’s freshman found teammate Noah Sadaoui. Sadaoui netted in the lone goal for the Peacocks soon after.
Moments later, Sadaoui looked as though he would score again, completing a brace, but Rosato came up and robbed Sadaoui of that opportunity.
In the end, the Owls held off the Peacocks, winning in front of their home crowd.
Freshman goalkeeper Patrick Lestingi said his team needs to finish games more effectively in the future.
“We need to finish games out and stay to our game plan throughout the entire game,” he said. “For the next game, we need to come together.”
The Owls have a lot of recovery to do in a short amount of time. Come Sunday, the Owls host the Howard University Bison—who have yet to win a single match—at the Ambler Sports Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the Owls are looking for their second consecutive home victory.
-Ashley Dougherty
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