By Chris Vaccaro
The day started out well, with members of the inaugural Pride soccer team in attendance to celebrate Alumni day for the team’s 50th anniversary. There was a team breakfast, speeches, and a halftime ceremony. With all this riding to a positive emotional standpoint it didn’t end as expected and the Pride was held scoreless in a 2-0 loss to Long Island rivals, the Stony Brook Seawolves.
The scoring drive started six minutes into the game for Stony Brook when midfielder Adam Ciklic made a sloping pass to Chris Megaloudis who then directed a solid cross near the front of the goal. Sophomore Chris Scarpoti sprinted to connect with the cross and tapped a shot inside the near post 12 yards out, beating Pride goalie Matthias Gumbrecht.
At this point it was too early for the Pride to be in such a situation. The game remained evenly paced with a slight advantage for the Pride throughout the remainder of the first half, and a majority of the second half as well.
There was pressure from all angles of the Pride offense during the second half, and it had a few drives in general where scoring opportunities presented themselves but the Pride could not convert.
One came when forward Chris Cox nailed a shot from 15 yards out which ricocheted off the crossbar, and then both junior forward Michael Todd and sophomore back Billy Chung were stopped on shots from 12 yards out.
Stony Brook netted its insurance goal in the 89th minute to secure the victory. The Pride was caught shorthanded in the backfield as it forced extra men up front. Seawolve Tamer Mohamed came up with a loose ball and fed Yahaya Musa to the left side for a 2-on-1 breakaway. Musa executed with excellent ball handling skills and drew the lone Pride defender away, passing over to Megaloudis on the right side, who then flicked the ball into an empty net from 25 yards out while Gumbrecht was closing in to cut the angle off.
It has been a constant throughout the early season to see the Pride leading in the shots category. That’s a helpful attribute but putting the ball in the net is what counts.
“We’re getting chances and plenty of shots,” Head Coach Richard Nuttall said. “It’s just that we’re not finishing on our chances.”
It’s not a matter of playing hard because it’s evident the Pride is putting the ball on net, but not being able to score goals now will prove costly down the stretch of the season.
“There is a certain anxiety on the team and we’re not relaxing,” Nuttall said. “We have no first half concentration at all.”
One reason for the lack of goals especially in this game was the opponent’s goaltender. Sophomore Ej Xikis made his first college start at keeper and looks like he’ll be staying in net for awhile after being named America East Player of the Week for his efforts against the Pride. Xikis made 11 stops, and came up clutch on the close attempt from Todd and made a spectacular diving save off of Chung’s shot in the 78th minute.
In front of a crowd of 887, the Pride blemished a fantastic Alumni Day celebration. “We did have a nice crowd, and there was a great response from the alumni,” Nuttall said.
This game could prove to be a turning point for the Pride depending upon how it takes it. There haven’t been too many mistakes on field, but it’s more of a mental feature to the game Coach Nuttall said.
“One weakness has been the overall ability to be motivated,” Nuttall said. “We have to be up for it mentally, and work harder.”
“Collectively we’re not working well,” Nuttall said. “Everyone has to step it up an extra ten percent.”
The loss drops the Pride to 2-3, and its next game will be on Saturday at 6pm at home against St. Francis.

Despite a 2-3 overall record, Pablo Lara is hoping to head a Pride playoff run. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)