Bobby Martinez – Staff Writer –
Southern men’s soccer (4-2-1) fell short against Merrimack College, losing 2-1 on Saturday in a close game where both teams played well defensively.
The Owls had a couple good chances to escape with the lead in the final minutes with major help from playing very well defense but fell short during the final minutes of sudden death.
In the first half the Owls looked very sharp and energized, which was a major key in the game. In the 35th minute Doural Scout scored the go-ahead goal which was assisted by Francisco Lara, giving the Owls a 1-0 lead.
Goalie Greg Cumpstone had nine saves, two of which in came during extra time.
“We hit a bad patch lately,” Cumpstone said. “The only way to get out of bad patch is to keep working and putting effort in training and games. I think we did that today.”
Going into the 80th minute, the Owls still held their 1-0 lead, however, Merrimack (position) Julio Leon tied the game with a free kick outside of the right box.
The Owls attempted to take back the lead with a few shot attempts but were blocked in the closing minutes.
After a scoreless first overtime, Owls midfielder Mario Costa came very close in winning the game in the 105th minute, but Merrimack goalie Jose Silva was able to come up with the save.
Two minutes later, Merrimacks Olaf Lindhe scored the game-winning goal with a head shot assisted by Matt McFadden.
“Certain things we did in the first half I thought were very good in terms of attitude and commitment,” head coach Tom Lang said. “The game got away from us in the second half and a little bit of our inexperience showed. We’ll just have to bounce back and get ready for the next game.”
