Patrick Fergus
@Fergus5Fergus
The Springfield College Men’s Soccer team fought hard but ultimately came up short, falling to Wesleyan University 1-0 Tuesday night on Brock-Affleck Field.
The Cardinals have held the Pride scoreless in their last four matches.
The first half was a showdown in the midfield. Neither team was able to consistently get quality shots and chances, and passing lanes were clogged.
Springfield didn’t even manage to register a shot on goal, while Wesleyan had three corners and two shots.
Wesleyan midfielder Niall Fergus almost broke the tie. He sprinted right past the Pride’s Dillon Mortenson and delivered a strong shot right into the body of goalkeeper Noah Pote who made the save.
Wesleyan continued its outright dominance on possession into the second half, and in the 53rd minute, the Cardinal’s breakthrough goal materialized.
A set-piece cross spiraled into the box amongst a sea of leaping heads; the ball seemingly bouncing 10 times before landing unblocked alarmingly close to the goal. Wesleyan forward Lucas Ruelemann took advantage of a favorable bounce and rocketed the ball into the right corner, past multiple diving defenders.
It was a challenging goal to swallow, especially after the staunch defensive play of the first half.
“We’re disappointed that one set piece moment was the difference between the two teams,” Crabill said.
Just minutes after the goal, the Pride had an opportunity to tie it up.
As the ball weaved between Wesleyan defenders, it found forward Chris Cruz. He took a difficult touch outside the box and launched a shot directly into the gloves of Cardinal goalkeeper Nic Galleno – once again leaving the home side with no goals to show for its efforts.
Despite the close loss, Crabill is pleased with the team’s direction.
“We’re a different team than we were four weeks ago, and our communication is loud and confident because we have a unified goal,” Crabill said. “The team as a whole is just looking for that next hurdle in our growth.”
The Pride moves to 2-3-1 on the season and head to Worcester on Saturday, Sept. 23 to face conference foe Clark University at 1 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics