The Shepherd University men’s soccer team claimed an overtime win against Concord on Oct. 8 before falling to #4 Charleston a few days later on Oct. 11.
With the loss to the nationally ranked University of Charleston, the Rams overall record dropped to 6-5-1 on the year and 3-5-0 against conference opponents. Furthermore, Shepherd now finds themselves sitting fifth out of seven teams in the Mountain East Conference men’s soccer standings. Nevertheless, in the most recent NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Atlantic Poll released on Oct. 7, the Rams had climbed up to seventh in the regional rankings.
Shepherd needed two overtime sessions in order to claim a 1-0 win over Concord University on Oct. 8. Both teams took countless shots and had several chances to put the ball in the back of the net as Concord recorded 16 shots while the Rams had 14 shots in the match. Nonetheless, the game remained scoreless until the 102:53 mark when junior defender Chris Mashinski scored to lift the Rams to the win. The goal was set up off a well-placed corner kick from junior defender Dan Doub and an assist from senior defender Michael Cella. Junior goalkeeper Alex Aleshire held his own by making three saves to preserve the shutout win over Concord.
On Oct. 11, the Rams traveled to Charleston, W.Va. to face one of the best Division II men’s soccer teams in the nation, fourth-ranked University of Charleston. The last time these two teams met on Sept. 14, the Rams were shutout and lost by the score of 13-0. The Golden Eagles sit atop the regional rankings, in which the Rams are ranked seventh.
Charleston has been stellar both offensively and defensively this season. They are averaging 4.25 goals per game and they have scored a total of 51 goals so far this season, which is by far the best among MEC teams. To put that in perspective, the Rams have managed to score only 14 goals up to this point in the season. Furthermore, the Golden Eagles defense has allowed only seven goals over the course of the season as opponents are averaging a mere .58 goals per game.
The Rams managed to keep the score reasonable in their Oct. 11 match with Charleston however they still lost by the score of 3-0. The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead when Augusto Maciel scored off an assist from Lucas Santos at the 12:05 mark. The Rams managed to keep the Golden Eagles from scoring again through the halftime break, however in the 51st minute, Jules Gabbiandini scored off an assist from Conor Branson to cushion the Charleston lead. They added an insurance goal at the 70:23 mark when Will Roberts scored an unassisted goal.
Charleston dominated possession of the ball throughout the match, while the Rams struggled to get any production from their offense as they managed only three shots in the entire match. In addition, the Golden Eagles had 20 shots in the game, 10 of which were shots on goal. The University of Charleston men’s soccer team is still undefeated on the season with the win over Shepherd.
The Shepherd men’s soccer team will play Wheeling Jesuit on Wednesday, Oct. 15 with the match beginning at noon.
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