BY JEFREY CANOVA, SPORTS STAFFER
Photo: GoBonnies
The Saint Joseph’s University men’s soccer team defeated St. Bonaventure University 2-1 on Saturday, dropping the Bonnies’ Atlantic 10 conference record to 2-4-1.
The Hawks, now 4-11-1 overall (2-4-1 in conference), began the first ten minutes troubling the Bonnies through their height and corner kicks. In the seventh minute, St. Joseph’s defender David Schwartzman nearly broke the deadlock when he headed the ball to the right side of the net after a corner kick, but Bonnies goalkeeper Jules Dechert prevented the shot from entering the net. Saint Joseph’s took the lead in the 14th minute after a corner kick by Hawks midfielder Truls Brændvang reached Hawks defender Alex Hartmann, whose thunderous header smacked the top post and crossed the goal line.
The Bonnies responded as they looked to their forward line to take them over the hunch and unlock the Hawks’ defense through their corners and progressive carries to the final third. In the 33rd minute, Bonaventure midfielder Kenzo Brito took the ball from Hawks midfielder Fletcher Caponecchia. He then progressed through the midfield and spotted Bonnies forward Rafael Pereira burst down the left flank, delivering a through ball to him. Pereira slotted a tight-angled finish into the far-right corner past Hawks goalkeeper Trevor Jackson, scoring the game-tying goal and his third of the season. Brito upped his total assist tally to six for the season.
At halftime, the Bonnies ended with four shots (two on goal), while Saint Joseph’s had six shots (three on goal). Both sides matched in corner kicks with three.
“The first half was just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. At that rate, we were not going to make it to 90 minutes with our guys in the middle of the field,” said Kwame Oduro, Bonaventure men’s soccer coach. “We wanted to make sure we saved some legs for the last 25 minutes of the game. In college soccer, you can sub, so we had to take advantage.”
The Bonnies started forward Dean Mercer, forward Rashid Aroza and midfielder Callum Shillington to open the second half. Bonaventure forward Umechi Akuazaoku substituted for Aroza in the 60th minute with forward Daniel Helle entering for Mercer six minutes later. Brito replaced Shillington in the 66th minute as well.
In search of winning the game, Bonnies forward Andres Javitt carried the team’s forward line as he dropped deep, linked up the play and drove the ball near the final third. In the 57th minute, a blocked shot from Mercer outside the right-hand side of the box landed for Javitt. He slithered inside the penalty area and shot the ball toward the far-left corner, but Jackson saved his shot and prevented the Bonnies’ second goal.
Javitt finished the game with four shots taken (two on target), the most throughout the match.
In the 73rd minute, Saint Joseph went ahead sealed the game when they capitalized on another corner kick. An unmarked Schwartzman mis-headed the ball to Bonaventure defender Mattia Ferretti, who inadvertently headed the ball to his own net. Despite the Bonnies’ efforts by outshooting the Hawks seven to four (11 to 10 total), Bonaventure couldn’t finish its chances and suffered their third loss at the Tom 80′ and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex in its final home game of the season.
With a Dayton draw to Saint Louis later in the day Saturday, Bonaventure got eliminated from postseason contention.
The Bonnies will play their last game at Virginia Commonwealth University at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 28. VCU has a 4-5-5 (4-1-2 in conference) record. VCU remains in contention for the top spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, depending on Davidson’s and Saint Louis’s results in their final conference matches.
Before the team got eliminated, Oduro elaborated on what he anticipates from his team against VCU, particularly on the offensive side.
“We told them the season isn’t over. Sometimes, a 3-4-1 record gets you in the playoffs, so we’re going to play hard and get a result,” said Oduro. “Today, we were sloppy offensively; we gave the ball away a lot and didn’t punish them besides the first goal. We have to fix that. The desperation of the game also made our players make decisions they otherwise wouldn’t make. Hopefully, we can get them relaxed for the next game.”
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