As quickly as the men’s soccer team entered the NCSAA/Adidas soccer poll at the No. 21 spot, the group might be ready to leave after a 3-0 loss to St. Bonaventure yesterday. The Bonnies (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic-10) dominated at home, handing the Red (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) its worse loss since a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of Hartwick College last October.
“[St. Bonaventure] just wanted to win more,” said head coach Bryan Scales. “They simply out-competed us.”
The Red seemingly entered the game on a high note, two days removed from the latest NCSAA poll that found them in the top 25 after a 5-0 victory over the weekend. The team had trouble carrying that emotion over to its game.
Scales didn’t believe the rankings had anything to do with the team’s performance, nor did he believe the squad underestimated the Bonnies.
“[Being in the poll] is exciting for the guys, but we told them we don’t put too much stock into it,” Scales said.
Midfielder John Phoumanny notched the first goal of the season against the Red when he was left alone near the goal in the 37th minute. The team had shut out its first two opponents, Colgate and Adelphi.
“All we needed was one break, and that first goal changed the game,” St. Bonaventure head coach Bill Brady said in a press release. The goal was Phoumanny’s second on the season and gave the Bonnies a 1-0 lead that they would carry into halftime.
Cornell opened the second half in a strong fashion, but could not put the ball home. Said Ali took a pass from Phoumanny in the 76th minute and headed the ball home to make the score 2-0. Freshman midfielder Ali Morshedi got behind the entire Cornell defense for a breakaway goal 59 seconds later.
The Red notched nine shots on the day, but only three managed to get on goal. Senior forward Ted Papadapoulos led the Red with three shots, but none found their target. The win gave sophomore Mike Krupka his fourth shutout of the season.
Scales believed that a the team’s youth and inexperience hurt his team on the day.
“Our lack of experience showed up today,” said Scales. “We didn’t do a good job doing the little things.”
The squad will return to action this weekend with its first match against an Ivy opponent when it faces 23rd-ranked Yale in New Haven on Saturday. Scales said that at this point the team wasn’t concerned with the Bulldogs.
“No, we haven’t thought about it yet,” the coach reported. “We’re not scared to play that game though.”
Archived article by Charles Persons