Luke Gadson – Sports Editor
The Owls suffered a tough loss against Southern New Hampshire University in the NE10 Championship semifinals. It was a physical battle up until the last second of the game, but the Owls were unable to score in the match and fell short to the Penmen 1-0. With this loss, the Owls’ season comes to an end.
Both teams had a great outing defensively, with the lone goal being scored by the Penmen in the 36th minute of play.
An impressive showing from goalkeeper Devin Juan, a junior, kept the Owls in the game until the end. Juan totaled seven saves in the match, with six of them coming in the Penmen’s scoreless second half.
“I think we can just be proud of ourselves. We made an unbelievable run to even get to this point. Unfortunately, it was not enough today, but I think we can be proud of what we achieved and how far we came,” said forward Leroy Best, a junior.
Despite the season coming to a close, the Owls have much success and positive moments to look back on from this season.
Clinching the number six seed after a 3-1-2 record in their final six games of the regular season, the Owls upset number three seed Adelphi in the first round of the NE10 Playoffs.
Midfielder Yannick Hilpert, a junior, led the team in goals, finishing with five on the year. Leading the Owls in assists with four on the season is forward Jalen Jean, a junior. Juan had an outstanding season as goalkeeper, leading the conference with a save percentage of .787. He also made 63 saves on the year.
The camaraderie and brotherhood of this team are the most important factors that went into sticking together and learning from a devastating loss in the playoffs.
“After a game like this, we just have to keep working and stick together because we are like a family. That’s never going to change. We can win; we can lose, but no matter what, we are going to stick together and achieve bigger things. Obviously, it hurts right now, but we are going to move forward,” said midfielder Umberto Catale, a junior.
As Head Coach Kevin Anderson closes out his first season as head coach for the Owls, he reflects on the positives he and his team can take away from this year. “It’s difficult to come up with words that can express the emotion and the effort that guys have put in. I’m extremely grateful to this group, the coaching staff and to everybody that supported throughout my first season here. I think the key takeaway is that hard work is a talent, and that is a staple of who we continue to aspire to be,” said Anderson.
“We are warriors. You saw that in the game as we kept fighting when we were down. I think it was a lesson, and we have to learn from this. We keep our heads high and continue,” said defender Alex da Cunha, a junior.
