As the 2014 regular season draws to a conclusion, the Shepherd University men’s soccer team continues to struggle. The Rams have lost five straight games with their last win coming on Oct. 8. Furthermore, in those five games, the team’s offense has managed to score only one goal during that time. In their past seven games, they have tallied a mere two goals. In addition, they are averaging .867 goals and 8.87 shots per game which qualifies for second to last among Mountain East Conference teams.
The Rams have scored only 16 goals in the entire 2014 season. On the other hand, their defense hasn’t been that great either, as they have been scored on 41 times. Shepherd has now fallen out of the NCAA regional rankings and they now find themselves sitting second to last in the Mountain East Conference men’s soccer standings with a 6-9-1 overall record as of Oct. 25.
Shepherd’s fourth straight loss came on Oct. 21 when they fell to West Virginia Wesleyan by the score of 1-0. The Rams were competitive throughout the first half of the match, however, in the 54th minute, the Bobcats managed to score the only goal of the game when Josh Spencer put the ball in the back of the net off a corner kick from his teammate Jens Demul. Shepherd was unable to respond as their inability to create scoring chances persisted. West Virginia Wesleyan held a 24-6 advantage in shots and an 11-2 edge in corner kicks.
The team dropped their fifth straight match on Oct. 25 when they lost to Urbana University by the score of 4-1. Callum Kerswell-Reid led his team with two goals scored in the match. Urbana also received goals from Lewis Dunne and Alpha Berry. Shepherd’s only goal of the game, which was their first since Oct. 8, came in the 78th minute when freshman forward Justin Marshall scored on an assist from freshman forward Sebeey Chi.
The Rams’ final two games of the 2014 season come against Seton Hill University on Oct. 28 and Goldey-Beacom College on Oct. 30.