MIDDLEBURY, Vt.. – The Connecticut College men's soccer team suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Amherst College 2-1 on Saturday in a neutral site contest at South Street Field in Middlebury, Vt. in the NESCAC semifinals. With the loss, Conn falls to 11-1-5 on the year, while Amherst improves to 12-2-3.
Amherst (12-2-3) started quickly, forcing a save from Conn (11-1-5) goalkeeper Peter Silvester (Smiths Parrish, Bermuda) just 30 seconds in, earning an early corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, the Mammoths struck first on a goal from Simon Kalinauskas at 1:08. Amherst doubled the lead just four minutes later, on a tally from Ben Clark-Eden.
Conn settled in after going down 2-0, earning a free kick right in the corner. Maurice Pigola (Gorlitz, Germany) played the ball into the box, bouncing around, before Jack Kelesoglu (Westfield, N.J.) put in under the crossbar to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:56. After the frantic opening 10 minutes, both teams' offenses slowed down, but each had chances, as Amherst led 2-1 at the break.
Conn started the second half on the front foot, looking for an equalizer, but the Amherst defense held strong, keeping the Camels at bay. The Mammoths upped the pressure, trying to limit the Camels attack, and with just over seven minutes remaining, earned a penalty kick.
Ada Okorogheye stepped up to the spot for Amherst, but Silvester read it all the way, keeping the deficit at 2-1. With time running down, the Camels started throwing everything at the net, with five shots in the span of 35 seconds, but could not find the equalizer, as time ran out on Conn, falling 2-1.
Amherst outshot Conn 12-9, including a 4-2 advantage on shots on target, while each team earned three corner kicks.
Silvester got the start in goal, making two saves on four shots, including a crucial penalty save late in the contest to keep the Camels in it. Kelesoglu tallied the lone goal for Conn, while Jake Creus (Rye, N.Y.) recorded two shots with one on target.
Max Landa got the nod between the sticks, making one save on two shots for Amherst. The Mammoths were paced on offense by Kalinauskas and Clark-Eden, who both tallied a goal.
Conn will not wait for the NCAA selection show to determine their NCAA tournament first-round matchup, with the selection show on Monday at 2:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.
