DeLand, Fla. ? The Stetson men's soccer team fell to 2-1-0 on the season with a 1-0 loss to UCF (1-2-0) at the Stetson Soccer Complex. It was a hard-fought, physical battle that wasn't settled until late in the game.
With just over five minutes remaining in regulation UCF's Joe Crowley (Chadds Ford, Pa.) forced his way into an opening in front of the goal mouth and delivered the game-winning goal past Stetson keeper Marc Galizia (Bradenton, Fla.).
“Marc played very well tonight,” said Stetson Head Coach T. Logan Fleck. “It is a shame that we couldn't pull out a win or a tie to support his effort.”
Galizia faced three shots on goal and picked up a pair of saves. Overall the Hatters out shot the Knights 18-12; UCF finished with 20 fouls to Stetson's 12. The physical play was a successful strategy the visitors used to slow down the superior scoring attack of the home team.
“I was disappointed for the boys,” said Fleck. “We out shot them, but we did not out score them. It is one of the hard lessons of soccer that our young team has to learn.”
Although the Hatters never look to make excuses, the fact is that they are shorthanded with some veterans sitting out while recovering from injury. In addition, leading scorer Eugene Starikov (Palm Harbor, Fla.) did not get into the action until the second half due to an injury sustained Friday night versus Florida International.
Kevin Munz (Jupiter, Fla.) and Kirk Labusch (Brandon, Fla.) picked up the slack and made some spirited charges at the UCF goal, yet could not convert. They led the team with four shots and three shots respectively. Dan Sackman (Hampshire, England) also played well picking up three shots.
Five of Stetson's 14 freshmen saw action tonight. Ryan Asare-Bediako (Tampa, Fla.), Fredrik Brustad (Oslo. Norway), Gonzalo deMujica (Weston, Fla.), Jack Johnson (London, England), and Giulio D'Amore (DeLand, Fla.) all played well under pressure.
The Hatters will be back in action Friday night when they host Florida Atlantic in a 7:00 p.m. game at the Stetson Soccer Complex.
