By Julian Markese
Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team’s season ended in defeat in Garden City, New York. The Owls lost 4-2 to Adelphi University on Saturday, Nov. 8 in the NE10 quarterfinals.
“We start in January to get to this day. This is the day that you train for. These are the days that you wake up early and do the extra work for,” Head Coach Kevin Anderson said.
The team fought, as they have all season, with valiance.
“We created a family. This is a family,” defender Edward Mensah, a graduate, said.
Scoring started early: midfielder Ryad Benmessaoud, a freshman, expertly struck a free kick past the keeper in just the second minute.
Benmessaoud was an impressive player all season, physical and always demanding of his teammates. He finished with three goals and two assists on the year.
The early goal was not detrimental to the Panthers’ spirit. They responded in less than 10 minutes with a goal of their own.
For the rest of the half, with the game tied at one, intensity continued to build. Tough challenges from both teams led the referee into his pocket. Both Benmessaoud and midfielder Jeremy Martin, a graduate, picked up yellow cards in the first half.
Following a contentious run of play, Mensah was fouled and momentarily left the game due to injury. Upon his return, Mensah made immediate impact.
Martin curled in a corner kick and the resultant shot was parried by the keeper. Mensah guided the rebound into the net with his head.
Jubilant celebration ensued. The Owls held a 2-1 lead heading into the half.
“If you would have told me from the first game that we played, that we would get to this level, and compete and compete and compete; I would tell you that it wasn’t gonna happen,” Mensah said.
The second half was a relentless battle. Martin was handed a second yellow and subsequent red card. The team was gutted. Martin, who led the team in goals and assists, would spend the final 30 minutes in the locker room.
The Owls played the remainder of the game with 10 men. Defenders Jah Nyanforh, a freshman, and Tyler Doherty, a senior, did the thankless job of holding together the backline.
The Panthers converted the man advantage into a tying goal. Undisciplined passing at the back meant goalkeeper Diego Flores, a freshman, saw the ball fly over his head and into the net.
Shortly after tying the match, the Panthers’ goal scorer was sent off for pulling the hair of an Owls player.
The game was made anew: tied at two with both teams fielding 10 men.
Forward Jake Novoshelski, a graduate, played with impetus. Novoshelski and midfielder Sam Sandler, a sophomore, caused frantic defending from Adelphi with their runs several times.
Novoshelski, in particular, was a sparkplug for the Owls this season. No one on the field played with more speed or urgency than him.
The offensive efforts of the Owls amounted to naught, and just when the game appeared to be headed for overtime, their defenses buckled.
The Owls threw 80 minutes of good soccer out of the window. A routine back pass was misplayed and became a dribbling own goal which dashed the hopes of the Owls.
“It’s not about the play. It’s not about the mistake. It’s about how you go about it as a group,” Anderson said.
At 3-2, with only 10 minutes remaining, the team gritted their teeth and went on.
Sandler made more threatening runs on the right wing, earning a corner in the dying breaths of the game.
Flores came up field to aid the corner effort, leaving the Owls goal open, which allowed the Panthers to hammer the final nail into the coffin.
“This is a tough one,” Anderson said. “This is painful.”
For the home team, it was ecstasy; for the Owls, despondence.
Upon the final whistle, most of the team collapsed on the field. The 4-2 scoreline was unfair.
“It’s a game of football. Sometimes, it goes like this. We all know how soccer is,” Mensah said. “I promise we’re gonna make it next time. We’re gonna make it; we’re gonna make it. Trust me; we’re gonna make it.”
The journey, in the most painful way, was over. The team huddled together one last time. Mensah continued to lead. Anderson pressed his forehead against the foreheads of his sobbing players.
Anderson constantly speaks highly of his players but offered a particularly strong endorsement of one of his graduating seniors.
“Tyler Doherty is the greatest teammate that I’ve ever seen,” Anderson said. “He’s selfless. He’ll do whatever it takes for as long as it takes or as little as it takes. He is a driving force behind a healthy environment that pushes us to get better.”
Anderson must tend to that environment immediately. Next week, he said, they will begin scouting and recruiting for next season, starting the journey again.
For Mensah, it was his final collegiate game. Through tears, the captain contextualized his love and dedication to the sport.
“Whenever I’m stressed, whenever I’m going through a lot, I step on the field, and it changes everything in my life. It changes everything that goes on in my life,” Mensah said. “This is what helps me to become who I am. To me, soccer is therapy.”
