By By Dave Diamond
The Pride men’s soccer team split two games over the weekend at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, losing 2-1 to Jacksonville on Friday before winning on Sunday. Despite the travel and extremely high temperatures throughout the weekend, the Pride maintained its winning record as it continues its non-conference schedule.
“The travel and the heat is tough, but it’s no excuse,” said head coach Richard Nuttall, whose team struggled to start its road trip.
Even though it out-shot Jacksonville 18-9 in the game, the Pride (4-2) was unable to find the net against Dolphins’ goaltender Joey Sanchez (three saves), and firing off-target 12 times. Jacksonville (3-2) junior forward Tommy Krizanovic made good on both of his shots, giving the Dolphins all they would need.
After a scoreless first half, Krizanovic’s first goal came at the 64:01 mark of the game. Krizanovic beat the defense down the right side and fired a shot from just outside the penalty area, beating Pride senior goalie Matthias Gumbrecht for the unassisted score.
Just over eight minutes later, Krizanovic scored again, also unassisted. The performance gave the Dolphins’ forward a remarkable seven goals in only four games this season.
Sophomore midfielder Chris Cox finally got the Pride on the board with his goal off a pass from midfielder Matthew Telling. Cox’s first goal of the season came with 1:38 remaining, far too late for the Pride to avoid losing its first game after consecutive victories last week against Marist and Saint Peter’s College.
“It wasn’t a game we could have won, it’s a game we should have won,” Nuttall said. “We didn’t capitalize on our scoring chances and they did.”
In the second game of the weekend, the mood turned from disappointment to elation rather quickly. Senior forward Michael Todd scored the only goal 5:36 into the game as he headed a hard cross from junior Arman Osooli about eight yards away, past Golden Knights goaltender Ryan McIntosh. It was Todd’s team-leading fourth goal of the season.
The rest of the game featured missed opportunities for both teams.
In the 15th minute, Gumbrecht came out of the net to stop a shot by UCF sophomore forward Adham Rashwan. Gumbrecht, however, let the rebound slip right back to Rashwan for a second opportunity, but Pride defenders managed to clear the ball off the goal-line to preserve the lead. Seconds later, UCF senior midfielder Billy Judino blistered a shot that sailed just wide.
The best chance for the Pride to pad its lead came late in the first half, when junior forward Constantinos Christoudias hit the crossbar off a feed from senior defender Billy Chung. Christoudias continued to generate offense, fresh off a career high five-point performance in the game against Marist.
Just over 68 minutes into the contest, UCF freshman Tyler Davis hit the crossbar, sealing the fate of the Golden Knights.
The Pride was out-shot 7-3 in the first half, and UCF dominated the second half as well, but Gumbrecht stood tall and recorded his first shutout of the season. He made four saves and successfully defended UCF’s eight attempted corner kicks. Solid defensive play from Osooli, Chung, junior Gary Flood, and freshman Corey Gudmundson has helped the Pride’s early season success in close games.
With three wins in its last four games, the Pride must now focus back on the northeast, where it finishes its non-conference schedule at home against St. Francis College and at Loyola College. According to Nuttall, there are still things to work on before the team heads to Drexel University at the end of the month to start conference play.
“I know we have the ability,” he said, “but what we’re missing is the concentration. We need to be better in front of the goal.”
This isn’t all that will be needed if the Pride plans to defend its Colonial Athletic Association championship, but it’s certainly a start.
Matthias Gumbrecht has been solid in net in this young season. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)