Penalty Kick Sinks Men's Soccer Against Connecticut College

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's soccer team battled visiting Connecticut College to a 1-0 loss in non-conference play at Leary Field Wednesday afternoon. The Blazers move to 2-5 on the season, while Connecticut College improves to 4-2 overall.

In their first meeting ever, the two squads played back-and-forth during the opening half, with the physicality of the match picking up with each passing minute, eventually leading to a combined 36 fouls and three yellow cards. The Blazers defense played a solid match, denying three corner kick opportunities from the Camels in the opening 20 minutes of play. Each team had limited chances in the first half as Connecticut College outshot Elms, 4-2, during a scoreless frame.

The Blazers upped the tempo in the second half, firing three shots in the opening ten minutes, with sophomore Donald Whittle (Somers, Conn.) delivered a cross to sophomore Robert Zaino (Avon, Conn.), who ripped a quick turn-and-shot just over the crossbar with 33:23 remaining.

In the 56^th minute, the Camels launched a ball towards the net where Elms senior Christian Kostka (Oxford, Mass.) challenged for the loose ball and was called for a foul, resulting in a penalty kick. On the attempt, Connecticut College senior Colin Patch (Providence, R.I.) beat Kostka to his left side, giving the Camels a 1-0 advantage. Elms had a final chance to net the equalizer in the 83^rd minute on a free kick deep in the Camels zone, but the attempt from senior Connor O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) whistled wide of the net, as Connecticut College captured the 1-0 win.

The Camels edged the Blazers in the shot column, 13-9, during the match. Kostka made a season-high five saves, while Connecticut College junior Austin DaCunha (Brookfield, Conn.) stopped the lone shot he faced.

"Connecticut College is a very talented team," said Elms Head Coach Ben Masse. "[Connecticut College] is one of the best teams we'll play. Another very well-coached team, they went toe-to-toe with Tufts, the top team in the nation, and lost to [Tufts] by one. For us to be able to compete with [Connecticut College] within one, I'm pleased. I felt that was not our best performance, and there's still room for us to grow. We need to do a better job of taking advantage of our scoring opportunities, because against a team like [Connecticut College], you might not get that many. I felt defensively, we shifted very well, we supported very well, and we held them to minimal chances. We got unlucky and gave up a penalty shot in the second half, which was the difference today. This year's been an anomaly in the sense that we've given up a penalty shot in every game this year, except against Amherst, and it's just been one of those things that has bitten us every game."

The Blazers will return to the pitch as they open up New England Collegiate Conference play with a road trip to Mitchell College Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. The Camels will face Hamilton in conference action Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

"I know I'm excited and the team is itching to begin conference play," continues Masse. "Conference games are always interesting, because every team plays a little bit harder, and a little bit faster. I suspect that we'll see a lot of success, and a lot of that is because of our tough out-of-conference schedule. I want the team to be as dominant as we can, because I'm confident that we are the strongest team in the conference, and I want the other teams in the conference to know that. When we come out, I want us to set the tone, I want to control the flow of the game, I want to control the scoreboard, I want to control everything about that game, and I know the team does too."

ELMS SOCCER