Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's soccer team wrapped up the home portion of its 2014 schedule Tuesday night, falling 1-0 to the Columbia Lions at Campus Field on Senior Night. Prior to the game, Sacred Heart honored the four seniors on this year's team – Dylan Strachan (Fairfield, Conn.), Andrew Butterworth (Haverhill, Mass.), Joshua Mathews (Shelton, Conn.), and Artur Jorge (Shelton, Conn.).
The two sides traded shots early, as attempts by Columbia's (7-6-1) Jack Gagne and Sacred Heart's (0-15-2) Giancarlo Maurello (Rego Park, N.Y.) missed the target. The Lions had the first shot on goal in the 11th minute as Brennan Branca fired a shot right at Strachan. Dylan Santos (Rahway, N.J.) came close to putting the Pioneers on top in the 12th minute, but Columbia's Kyle Jackson made the save.
The Lions broke through for the game's lone goal in the 14th minute. Jack Blattman made a run from midfield all the way to the 18-yard box, hitting a throughball to Nicholas Pappacena who put a shot right to the far post and in to make the score 1-0. Ten minutes after Columbia got on the board, Sacred Heart nearly equalized when Ermir Celaj's (Brookfield, Conn.) chance at goal was stopped by Jackson. Strachan had to make a brilliant save in the 28th minute, knocking a Francisco Agrest shot over the crossbar. The Pioneers had one more shot on goal in the first half. Ezra Siyadhuba (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) had a shot saved by Jackson in the 39th minute, as Columbia took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Maurello had the first shot on goal in the second half, forcing Jackson off his line to make a stop in the 61st minute. The Pioneers also had near misses from Jamal Vinson (Teaneck, N.J.) in the 72nd minute and Mahmoud Kafel (Fairfield, Conn.) in the 74th minute. Sacred Heart's best chance to level the game came in the 87th minute. Julian Linke (Neiderhausen, Germany) found the ball at his feet after a corner kick, but couldn't elevate the ball over a sprawled-out Jackson to tie the game. Columbia was able to run out the clock and win the game.
Sacred Heart outshot Columbia 13-11, putting five shots on goal to the Lions' four. Jackson made five saves for the clean sheet as Strachan made three.
The Pioneers close out the season Sunday at Fairleigh Dickinson. Due to FDU hosting this weekend's NEC women's soccer tournament, Sunday's game has been moved to a 5 p.m. start from the original 1 p.m. start time.
