photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
By John Nelson, Sports Staffer
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The St. Bonaventure University men’s soccer team fell to La Salle University 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in a tight match at the Marra Athletics Complex.
The Bonnies entered the game looking to move closer to securing their first Atlantic 10 Tournament berth since 2020. The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the tournament. Bonaventure currently sits in ninth place.
Both teams applied pressure early in the contest. However, a costly foul late in the first led to a La Salle penalty shot. The Explorers capitalized on the kick and took the lead in the 37th minute from junior midfielder Esquivel Meza.
The Bonnies created two scoring opportunities following the penalty kick, but failed to find the back of the net.
Heading into the half, the Bonnies trailed 1-0.
The Bonnies entered the second half looking to even the score. However, La Salle’s defense held firm, preventing Bonaventure from generating enough momentum to find the back of the net.
Midway through the second half, Bonaventure senior defender Luc Finelli stepped on the foot of La Salle junior forward Gabe Faust. Faust responded by striking Finelli’s knee with the bottom of his shoe, resulting in red cards for both players. Both teams played the remainder of the match with 10 players.
Bonaventure’s last efforts came up short. The Bonnies dropped to 5-7-3 and 2-4-1 in conference play. La Salle, which sits 11th in the A-10, improved to 6-7-3 and 2-3-2 in conference play.
Leave a Reply