Aug. 29, 2017 Box Score
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - On a wet and windy night in Brooklyn, the Lafayette men's soccer team couldn't find an equalizer late, dropping a 2-1 match on the road at St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday.
All three goals in the game were scored in the opening 45 minutes as sophomore Evan Vare found the back of the net for the Leopards' first goal of the 2017 campaign. His tally came off a long free kick from sophomore Chris Gomez in the midfield as Vare was able to flick a header into the lower right corner of goal.
The contest featured two evenly-matched teams as the Terriers were just able to convert on more of their chances in the end to pull out the victory. Lafayette falls to 0-2 on the young season, while St. Francis improves to 1-1.
The Maroon and White came out on the front foot, spending the majority of the opening nine minutes in the Terriers' defensive third, forcing four corners during that span. Freshman Andrew Venezia connected on a strong shot from about 30 yards out following a corner that forced a good early save from the home goalkeeper.
However, a corner on the other end of the field led to the first Terriers goal. Following a scrum in front and the initial shot saved by Leopards' senior goalkeeper Brian Ehrlich, the rebound found the foot of Mateo Caribotti, who slotted it in for the 1-0 advantage.
St. Francis continued that momentum through to the midway point in the half, scoring again to take a 2-0 lead. A long service from the right side across the front of goal by Ali Tounkara found the head of Caribotti, who sent it back toward the right side and tucked it inside the right post.
The Leopards came on strong again after the second goal, though, as Vare sent a dipping shot with pace on the end of a free kick just over the crossbar in the 30th minute. Then, about eight minutes later, he found pay dirt to cut the home lead to 2-1 into the halftime break.
The Lafayette pressure was sustained throughout the second half as a Gomez free kick midway through sailed just high over the crossbar. Ehrlich made an outstanding diving save to his left late to keep the Leopards in it, but an equalizer never came as the buzzer sounded on a 2-1 final.
Ehrlich made six saves on the night in defeat, while St. Francis' Roberto Bazzichetto stopped two Leopard scoring chances for the win. Shots were 10-9 in favor of the home side, but Lafayette led in corners by a 9-3 margin.
Lafayette will continue to strive for its first win of 2017 in its next contest on Monday, traveling to Fairfield for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Stags.
