Game Recap: Mustangs Lose 0-1 to No. 5 Blue Jays

On Monday the Mustangs men's soccer team stepped onto a soggy field for the second match up of the season against the nationally ranked no. 5 Manor College Blue Jays.

In the teams' first game of the season, the Blue Jays came out on top 5-0. However, Mustangs Head Coach Obed Arango was determined to give the Blue Jays a tougher game this time around.

"My assistant coach and I decided to have the Mustangs carry out an early surprise attack on the Blue Jays," said Coach Arango. "I think this worked well for us."

The Mustangs had three clear shots on goal and a corner kick in the first minutes of play, all while keeping a solid defense. Jaron Kicinski, Eric Sylvester and Joseph Lasher kept up the offensive pressure, while Elijah Johnson and Moisei Scutaru led the midfield battle with the Blue Jays. The game was equally played in the entire first half, with both teams getting good shots on net and executing magnificent plays in the midfield.

The Mustangs defense thwarted a number of runs by Manor, with great slide tackles, steals and footwork from Brian Shim, Mark Stoughton, Sean Treacy and Austin Messner. The dangerously talented forwards on Manor's team could not penetrate most of the time. When one forward did slip by, freshman goal keeper Brett Bosler made spectacular plays with superhuman mid-air blocks and scrappy ground saves.

"The Mustangs played smart, secure and with spirit," said Coach Arango. "It was difficult to tell which team was nationally ranked and which team was not."

In the second half, it was more of the same. The Blue Jays came out even harder offensively, but the Mustangs defense remained solid and the midfielders were still able to feed balls up for offensive pressure.

The game looked like it was heading into overtime as the clock dwindled down under 10 minutes left in play. However, it was at that moment that the Blue Jays earned a corner kick, resulting in a tie-breaking goal.

With under seven minutes left to answer back, the Mustangs changed lines to throw more scoring force at the Blue Jays. However, the game ran short on time and the Blue Jays walked away with the victory.

"I am proud of the Mustangs," said Coach Arango. "I explained to the team that we played one of the best teams in the country equally for 90 minutes. That shows that we are just as good. If we play every game like we played against Manor, we can earn victories from here on out."