Lawrenceville, NJ - The Mercyhurst Men's Soccer team traveled to New Jersey this afternoon to take on the Rider University Broncs. The match was a very contentious battle that resulted in almost 30 total fouls and 10 total cards shown between the two sides. The Broncs ended up securing the victory by a score of 2-0.
How it Happened
The referee of today's match wasted no time setting the tempo by reaching for his pocket not long after the kickoff whistle had blown. Laker defender
Mario Ganser was shown a yellow card just 20 seconds into the match for a foul.
The first real chance for either side came from a Hail Mary type of pass from Broncs defender Martin Chladek. His long ball found the foot of Bryan Akongo who was able to lift his shot up and over
Danilo Abayo to give the Broncs the early lead in the 13
th minute. Just five minutes later in the 18
th minute, Momo Diop dribbled down the line on a good sequence of play. Diop layed the ball off for Akongo just a few yards out from the net but Akongo hit it wide.
The Lakers had a good chance to get back in the game in the 32
nd minute.
Jorge Tallada Torres had a great shot that narrowly hit the outside of the post. Another chance for the Lakers came in the 39
th minute where
Dylan Sumner sent in a dangerous cross from a free kick that found the head of
Kyle Halehale. The Broncs keeper Adam Salama made a tremendous save to lift the ball over the net and keep the score at 1-0 at halftime.
The Lakers started off strong in the second half.
Jorge Tallada Torres had an insightful shot from just outside the penalty area in the 49
th minute. Adam Salama made another wonderful save to prevent the Lakers from leveling the score. In the 66
th minute, Momo Diop played a ball in that found the foot of Patryk Rojek who calmly placed the ball in the side of the net to give the Broncs the 2-0 lead.
Just 7 minutes later, tempers started to fly as
Lockie Fay was shown a red card in the 73rd minute for what appeared to be persistent dissent in a disagreement with the referee. On top of the red card, the Lakers were shown six yellow cards throughout the game compared to the Broncs receiving just three.
With under 10 minutes remaining in the match,
Jorge Tallada Torres displayed some lovely footwork and found
Dylan Sumner in a tight space. Sumner did well to try to get a shot off, but Adam Salama was there to put him off balance.
The Broncs thought they scored a third in the 83
rd minute when Luis Pimentel found the back of the net from the center of the penalty area, but the offside flag went up. That disallowed goal was perhaps the only thing that went the Lakers way on what turned out to be a rather frustrating afternoon.
Highlights
Brian Akongo scored his fourth goal of the season.
Patryk Rojek scored his first goal of the season.
The Broncs have now won their last six matches.
The Lakers led the shot category 11-6.
Up Next
The Lakers have a miraculous
twelve days off before they finally begin NEC play. They will travel to Central Connecticut State University to take on the Blue Devils in New Britain. Kickoff for that match is set for Thursday, October 3
rd at 1:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). Viewers can watch through the NEC Front Row or follow along to the Blue Devils' live stats.
