After winning their first two games in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), the men's soccer team has now dropped three conference games in a row after falling to Rutgers University-Camden on Oct. 1 and to New Jersey City University (NJCU) on Saturday.
The Scarlet Raptors of Rutgers-Camden took down the Lions first, 1-0, as sophomore Matt Lanouette tallied the only goal of the game late in the second half on a header to secure the victory.
The Scarlet Raptors outshot the Lions 14-6 and had the advantage in corner kicks 12-1.
Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Goldwaser notched six saves in the contest, but the one that got away proved to be the difference. The opposing goalkeeper, freshman Tim VanLiew, needed to make only one save to achieve victory for his squad.
The Scarlet Raptors improved to an impressive 9-1-1 on the season, with a 2-1-1 record in the NJAC.
"We haven't gotten the results we've been looking for in the past few games, but sometimes that's just how the game is," Goldwaser said.
The score was different against No. 24 NJCU, but the result was the same for the College.
The Lions fell to the Gothic Knights 3-1 as the victors recorded three unanswered goals after trailing early.
The lone goal for the College was scored by senior forward Chris Nelan, as he drilled a breakaway goal to the left side of the net.
After the early score, the Gothic Knights struck back and tied the match up at 1 heading into the second half. They added their second goal on a penalty kick rebound as the Lions committed a handball to force the free kick. The Gothic Knights added a third goal late to ice the win.
With the win, NJCU remains unbeaten in the NJAC at 3-0-1 and is 7-2-2 overall. Both NJAC losses have dropped the Lions to 2-3 in the conference, and they now stand at 6-6-1.
"We have the bulk of the season still to play for, and things will start to click for us as the season progresses," Goldwaser said. "We knew coming into the season that we would get better as it went on, and we just have to stay positive and look to play for each other."
Looking to do just that, the Lions will head back on the road as they go head-to-head with the Falcons of Messiah College at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
