CINCINNATI, Ohio - On Wednesday, September 6th your Mount St. Joseph University men's soccer team played host to the Mountaineers of Berea College. The Lions split possession in the first half but conceded a pair of goals heading into halftime down 2-0. In the 2nd half, Berea added their 3rd goal before the Lions could push across their own. The Lions scored in the 87th minute to erase the shutout but fell by a final score of 3-1.
In the first half, Berea came out firing tallying 4 shots in the first 20 minutes and on their 4th attempt, they found the net. Berea's Isaiah Collins scored from roughly 30 yards out to give the Mountaineers the lead in the 20th minute. Following the goal, the Lions would slow down the Berea attack while picking up the offensive pressure.
Joseph Stark and
Joshua Budke would both send shots to the net but couldn't find the target.
Luis Martinez Velez had the best opportunity to score with a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper but couldn't convert in the 37th minute. Just before the whistle to end the 1st half, Berea was able to add to their advantage. The Mountaineers' Joshua Szidik netted their 2nd goal of the night with just 3 minutes left to play in the 1st half, taking a 2-0 lead.
In the 2nd half of play, Berea got off to a quick start. After 2 consecutive shots, the Mountaineers pushed their 3rd goal of the game across in the 53rd minute taking a 3-0 lead. The Lions responded with shots from
Luis Martinez Velez and
Michael Abel but couldn't find the net. It wasn't until the 87th minute of play that the Lions would finally get their golden opportunity. Freshman
Derek Rolfes would draw a foul in the box setting up a penalty kick for the Lions. Stepping up to take the penalty was Senior
Gunnar Gramann. Gramann took his run up and hammered the ball to the bottom left hand corner of the net, passed the outstretched glove of the goalkeeper giving the Lions their 1st goal of the game. But, the Lions were unable to get another shot off in the final 3 minutes. After 90 minutes of play the Lions fell to the Mountaineers 3-1.
UP NEXT: The Lions are back in action on Friday, September 8th as they play host to the Trailblazers of Ohio Christian. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM.
