By Miranda Parrish
Elm Staff Writer
On Saturday, Oct. 1 the Washington College Men’s Soccer team travelled to Collegeville, Pa. for their second Centennial Conference game against Ursinus College’s men’s soccer team. Despite the cold and rainy October day, the team played well.
The Shoremen started off strong, with a penalty against senior midfielder Eric Gwadz at the nine-minute mark. The Shoremen scored their first goal off the penalty kick by senior midfielder Ben Strine.
At the 20 minute mark, a foul on the Shoremen led to a penalty kick, which was saved by junior goalie Anthony Pinto.
Despite both teams taking shots on goal, the first half ended with the Shoremen in the lead 1-0.
In the second half, the Shoremen reset and continued their scoring streak. At the 61 minute mark, senior midfielder Ben Horgan shot on Ursinus’s junior goalie, reaching the back of the net and scoring the Shoremen’s second goal of the game.
The Shoremen continued to play hard despite the weather and the Ursinus Bears, who received four yellow cards, and one red card as well across the course of the game.
“We’ve been defensively solid all year and that didn’t change this game. Our midfield never stopped running and were always making good tackles and passes. Our guys up front have really started to find form and are scoring goals to help us out. I was really happy with how this game went despite the fact that we had to change our style of play a little bit to suit the weather and slickness of the ball,” sophomore defender Sebastien Linares said.
An attempt to score at the 70 minute mark led to a penalty on Shoremen senior goalie Anthony Pinto, which led to the second penalty kick on WC. This was saved by senior goalie Anthony Pinto as well.
The Shoremen continued to keep Ursinus on their feet with several substitutions of players throughout the second half. Freshman defender Brendan Fox was substituted for sophomore defender Emmanuel Kouadio after an injury. Freshman forward Assou Kowo was taken out for sophomore forward Cesar Aayon Fuentes, who attempted but unsuccessfully scored at the 77 minute mark. Sophomore goalie Cole White was also substituted for junior goalie Antony Pinto and defended the Shoremen goal for the rest of the second half.
The game ended in a 2-0 victory for the Shoremen. Sophomore defender Sebastien Linares said, “The win is great. That’s two games, four goals, two clean sheets. We are in great form all over the field. I could not be happier at the moment with how everyone is playing and the results we are getting. It’s a lot more fun when you are winning than losing.”
The Shoremen have their next home game at Roy Kirby Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. against Johns Hopkins.
Photo courtesy of Elm Archives
Photo Caption: Senior midfielder Eric Gwadz receives a throw-in pass during the Shoremen’s game against Muhlenberg.