Drexel and La Salle Post a Victory in the Week of August 21 – 28
August 29, 2023 –
The season kicks off for the Philly D1 Men’s Soccer teams. Drexel and La Salle recorded a win over the week. Our local six turned in a 2 – 3 – 4 record over the week. Let’s look at the details.
Drexel Dragons (1 – 0 – 1)
Drexel opened its season with a 2 – 0 victory on Hawk Hill over local rival Saint Joseph’s. The Dragons now have a three-game winning streak over the Hawks. Forward Dominick Bachstein had the first goal of the season for Drexel in the 6th minute of play. Forward Joshua Pulla got the next one at the 38:09 mark. Goalie Alessandro Capogna made three saves in recording the shutout. In the following tilt Drexel and Lafayette played to a 1-all tie. Both goals were scored in the second half. Defenseman Julian Jordheim tied the game in the 84th minute with his first career goal off a corner kick. The Dragons had a 7 – 1 advantage in that statistic. Capogna was forced to make one save. The Coastal Athletic Association play awaits Drexel next as they meet Charleston on the road.
La Salle Explorers (1 – 0 – 1)
La Salle started the season with an offensive battle that resulted in a 3 – 3 draw at Stonehill. Each time the Skyhawks scored the Explorers would answer. Defenseman Americo Pereira got the tying goal in the 77th minute. He had two for the game, his collegiate-firsts, with the initial score coming at 56:04. Forward Giammarco Rodio netted the first goal of the season for the Explorers in the 38th minute. The home opener and first win of the season was celebrated with a 1 – 0 win over Army. The lone goal was by midfielder Yuval Nimrodi, his first career goal at 23:20. Goalie Filip Sabatti made six saves for shutout number one. The Explorers travel to Manhattan on September 1st.
Temple Owls (0 – 0 – 2)
The Cherry and White started off with 2 road ties, a scoreless draw at Monmouth and a 1 – 1 match at Lehigh. Owls defenseman Nikolai Zapolskikh got the game-evening score at Lehigh in the 53rd minute, his first career-goal. Goalie Flannan Riley made 4 saves. Temple had a 19 – 11 edge in shots, and 6 – 5 in shots on goal. Earlier in the week Riley turned in a clean slate in the draw at Monmouth where he saved three shots on goal. Owls forward Juan Zepeda and midfielder Felix Ewald recorded shots requiring a save. Temple will be off until the day after Labor Day when they host city rival Saint Joseph’s at the Temple Sports Complex.
Villanova Wildcats (0 – 1 – 0)
Villanova started the season on the road with a 2 – 0 loss to UAlbany. Wildcats goalie Kent Dickey made 4 saves, one off a penalty kick. However, the initial goal of the game was a penalty kick score in the 33rd minute. The insurance goal for UAlbany was scored in the 80th minute. The Great Danes had a 17 – 8 advantage in shots. Forward Balthi Saunders had 3 shots for Nova. Next up is an end of August game at NJIT.
Saint Joseph’s Hawks (0 – 2 – 0)
The campaign began with a pair of shutout losses for the Hawks, both by a 2 – 0 score. The opener was a loss at Drexel where Saint Joe’s was outshot 14 – 5. Goalie Lars Haavie recorded 6 saves. Forward Blake Driehuis put 2 shots on goal that were turned away. He would have 4 shots in the loss against Rider. The Hawks had a 13 – 10 edge in shots, but the Broncs were more efficient getting 5 on goal to 4. The three-game home stand finishes on August 31st with a match against Boston University.
Penn Quakers (0 – 0 – 0)
The University of Pennsylvania starts the 2023 season on Friday, September 1st when they travel to the Bronx to meet the Fordham Rams.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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