Games of September 18 – 24, 2023
September 24, 2023 –
Week Five of of the men’s soccer season. Our Philly teams started conference play posting a 3 – 1 – 3 record in their leagues, a decent start. Overall the Philly D1 teams went 3 – 2 – 5. On a sad note Temple interim President JoAnne Epps passed away during the week. In respect to her passing and memory the Temple vs. Drexel game was cancelled.
The Villanova Wildcats (1 – 3 – 3, 1 – 1 – 0 BIG EAST) earned win number one this season and it came in a BIG EAST game at rainy Providence. It was a free scoring affair with the Wildcats winning 4 – 3. Defenseman Marcus Brenes found the back of the net twice. He scored the initial goal of the game at 1:46 off a set piece. The graduate backliner would tie the game in the 77th minute setting the stage for the golden goal by junior forward Balthi Saunders in the 88th minute. Defenseman Anthony Cousins, Jr. had the other Nova goal. Kent Dickey made 6 saves in the net. Earlier in the week Villanova hosted Western Michigan and that game ended in a 2 – 2 draw. Saunders got the first goal and junior forward Vincent Petrera hit the equalizer in the 75th minute. Petrera, who had a goal and an assist, headed the ball into the goal off a corner kick by senior midfielder Dominic Cyriacks. Michael Sheridan played in goal and saved 7 shots. The Wildcats scored 6 goals over the week and will take the pitch again on September 30 at UConn.
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks (3 – 5 – 1, 1 – 0 – 1 Atlantic 10) defeated the Dayton Flyers 1 – 0 in a downpour at Sweeney Field. The Hawks had not won over the Flyers since 1995, a streak of 19 games. That’s over now. The goal arrived in the 60th minute off the foot of junior forward Blake Driehuis, his seventh of the season. Forward Bart Kooistra sent a curling pass to Driehuis who lifted the ball over the head of the Dayton goal tender. It was also the third game-winner for Driehuis this season. The victory broke a four-game home losing streak. Previous to the Dayton game Saint Joe’s dropped their A10 opener at Monmouth 1 – 0 when Ben Zakowski converted a penalty kick 1:53 into the second half. SJU got off 2 shots that required a save. Goalie Trevor Jackson made 5 saves. It will be a quick turnaround as Yale visits 54th and City Avenue on Monday evening. Hopefully, by then, the rain will have stopped.
The Drexel Dragons (4 – 1 – 2, 2 – 1 – 1 CAA) have won 3 of their last 4 games as they defeated the Elon Phoenix in a conference contest 1 – 0 at Vidas Field. The game-decider in the 76th minute was by junior forward Giancarlo Vaccaro. Taking a pass he beat his defender and sent a one-touch shot into the goal, his second of the season. Goalie Alessandro Capogna saved one shot in turning in his 8th clean slate this season. Both teams were credited with 7 shots. Drexel faces NJIT in a non-conference battle at Vidas on Tuesday.
The Temple Owls (0 – 4 – 3, 0 -1 – 1 American) hosted the UAB Blazers and broke a four-game losing losing streak with a 2 – 2 tie in a conference matchup. Both teams have an identical 0 – 4 – 3 and 0 – 1 – 1 record. All goals were scored in the first half. The Blazers got the first two in the 15th minute. The Owls erased that deficit. Sophomore midfielder Felix Ewald scored in the 23rd minute, his first in Cherry and White. Just over 16 minutes later fellow sophomore Lleyton Imparato tied it with his initial goal wearing the Cherry and White. Temple had the better of the shots 16 – 8, but UAB had 5 on goal compared to 3. Owls goalie Andrew Kempe saved 3 in his 90 minutes in the net. The Owls have 7 goals this season, all by different players and all underclassmen. Play in the American resumes when Temple travels to Charlotte on Friday.
Two games and two ties for the University of Pennsylvania (2 – 2 – 3, 0 – 0 – 1 Ivy League), but the latter one was the Ivy opener for the Red and Blue. In Baltimore Penn and Loyola played to a scoreless draw, the third shutout for the Quakers this season. Goalie Nick Christoffersen recorded all of the team clean slates to now. Loyola outshot Penn 13 – 9. Both teams put three on goal. Back home and in the rain the team tied the Yale Bulldogs at 1 each. Junior midfielder Brandon Curran tied the game for the Red and Blue in the 65th minute, nearly 12 minutes after Yale took the lead. Junior defenseman Ben Do got the assist when he sent the ball on a cross to Curran. Christoffersen saved 2 shots and has a .071 goals-against-average and a .783 save percentage. Over the last five games Penn has won 2 and tied 3. They have not lost a game since before Labor Day versus Hofstra. Next up is an Ancient Eight game at Dartmouth.
The La Salle Explorers (3 – 3 – 3, 0 – 0 – 2 Atlantic 10) suffered a 3 – 1 loss at Rider, then returned to the road and tied the Rhode Island Rams at zero in stormy Kingston. In New Jersey freshman midfielder Yuval Nimrodi scored the first goal of the game in the 34th minute. It was his third of the season that went inside the right side of the goal. The Broncs got the next three. The shots on goal total was 8 – 4 in favor of Rider. In sloppy conditions both the Explorers and the Rams put three shots on goal apiece. La Salle sophomore goalie Filip Sabatti made 8 saves over the week. Atlantic 10 play continues for the Explorers who have two ties over their last three games. La Salle hosts George Mason on Saturday.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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