WORCESTER, Mass. - The Lafayette men's soccer team continued its struggles on the offensive end on Saturday evening in Worcester, Mass., falling to Holy Cross by a 1-0 margin.
The Leopards have now gone four straight games without a goal, losing three of those contests by 1-0 score lines. The loss moves Lafayette to 5-5-5 overall on the year and 2-3-1 in league play.
Neither team created a real scoring chance in the first 45 minutes, but Lafayette's best opportunity came about 14 minutes into the second stanza. Junior co-captain Ryan Egan, working down the right side near midfield, sent a long cross that found its way through the box and onto the feet of senior Todd Forrester, alone in front of goal on the other side. Forrester tried a low effort to beat the oncoming keeper, but Holy Cross' Kevin Wright dove to his left to make the save in a 1v1 situation.
That save propelled the Crusaders to the winning goal about 12 minutes later in the 71st minute. Arno Rupp worked into excellent position in the center of the box to receive a corner service. His header was deflected into the far side past a diving Brian Ehrlich for the deciding tally.
The game got chippy late as Michael Bloom was sent off with a red card in the 88th minute, and Holy Cross walked off with a 1-0 victory. Ehrlich was solid between the pipes, making seven saves on the evening, while Wright picked up the win with three saves to his credit in the shutout.
Shots were 16-9 in favor of Holy Cross and the Crusaders also held the edge in corners, 6-4. Lafayette is back in action on Wednesday, traveling to archrival Lehigh in a critical league contest at 7 p.m.
