The AU men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought decision on the road to Colgate University Saturday, losing to the Red Raiders 1-0. The defeat drops the Eagles record to 7-7-2 on the season and 3-1-1 in the Patriot League.
The only scoring of the game came in the fourth minute of the match, as Colgate junior midfielder Alex Weekes took advantage of an Eagle defensive turnover and buried a shot from just outside the 18-yard box past freshman goalkeeper Matt Makowski to give Colgate the 1-0 lead.
AU's best chance of the half occurred only minutes after this goal, as junior defender Cameron Petty sent a cross into the box to sophomore midfielder Mike Worden, but his shot went just wide of the target and kept the game scoreless entering halftime.
The Eagles continued to put on the offensive pressure in the second half of play. With 12 minutes remaining in the match, junior midfielder Luis Martinez found sophomore midfielder Jaime Davin inside the goal box but his pass was unable to find an open teammate, ending the game with the eventual score of 1-0 in favor of the Red Raiders.
Despite the defeat, AU Head Coach Todd West said he was still impressed at the way his team battled throughout the match.
"I'm very proud of the way everyone played and competed," West told AUeagles.com. "If we continue to play and compete like we did tonight, things will take care of themselves on Monday and next Saturday."
The Eagles remain only one win away from clinching a spot in the league's postseason tournament with two league games remaining. AU next plays on the road against the U.S. Military Academy at 3 p.m. Monday before finishing the regular season at home against Bucknell University Saturday.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
