By Chris Vaccaro
Logically, a loss should spark a form of aggression that helps to propel a playing attitude. So what would losses in three prior games do to the Pride’s men’s soccer team? It forced a 3-0 victory for the Pride over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday.
The Pride has displayed great offense since the beginning of the season, but hasn’t been able to put the ball in the back of the net. Maybe it was the loss to Stony Brook on Alumni Day in front of the home fans, or possibly a resurgence of mental focus throughout the team, but nevertheless, the win was recorded and the three game losing skid was ended.
Senior midfielder Pablo Lara etched the first tally for the Pride (3-4) at 24:19 of the first half when senior forward Michael Todd forced a give and go with freshman forward Chris Cox. Cox’s shot squeezed by St. Francis (2-4-1) goalie Karl-Anders Knutsen, but hit the far post and came back to Lara, who finished the play from 10 yards out.
Little offensive output was seen from the Terriers while the Pride was flowing well on all sides of the ball, scoring another goal 10:26 into the second half. Senior midfielder Matthew Telling sent a pass along the right sideline past the defense to Todd, who rocketed a cross directly through the penalty area. Sophomore Constantinos Christoudias dove for a header about 10 yards away hitting the shot home inside the near post.
“It was an excellent header, and an all around beautiful play,” coach Richard Nuttall said. “The play showed how the team has had confidence with their passing.”
Already adding that insurance goal, it was clear the Pride stuck to defensive concentration for the remainder of the game.
It was fitting that the final Pride goal, scored with only 55 seconds left, was the same pair who set up the second goal. This time Todd added his name to the goal scorer’s list when Christoudias used his head once again. The ball went forward past the defense; Todd picked his spot in the upper left hand corner and scored.
“That goal should settle him,” Nuttall said. “He’s been working hard, and is finding his form again.”
The Pride had significantly more shots than the Terriers at 18-5, and Pride goalie Matthias Gumbrecht’s only challenge came when Terrier midfielder Paul Nittoli had a rush in front of the Pride net. Knutsen had five saves for the Terriers and Gumbrecht earned his third shutout of the season; one shy of last year’s total.
Whether the solid defense in the backfield is providing the offensive players with ball possession or a strong front line of offensive standouts is helping keeping the ball upfront, the offense looks good.
“We’re just working real hard right now, and coming together nicely as a cohesive unit,” Nuttall said. “We’re playing better as a team and getting better as the season progresses.”
This weekend the Pride enters its second tournament of the season at Clemson University and plays nationally ranked Coastal Carolina on Friday at 5 p.m. and the host Tigers on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“This victory will help us both mentally and physically,” Nuttall said. “The tournament is going to be a fantastic challenge, but we can succeed if we play our best.”