With a 5-0 loss to the University of Pennsylvania Sept. 24 and a 2-0 loss to the University of Delaware Sept. 28, the Drexel University Men’s soccer extended its losing streak to four games.
Since freshman Carlos Cuevas’ dramatic game winning goal in overtime against Temple University Sept. 18, the Dragons have been unable to find the back of the net.
The Dragons played host to the Delaware Blue Hens at Vidas Athletic Field this past Wednesday night. Delaware took command of the game early, firing four shots before Drexel could even get off its first attempt.
In the 13th minute, one of Delaware’s shots found its way into the Drexel net when Fede Prieto cashed in a header for the blue heads off of an assist by John Schroeder.
In the 21st minute, the Dragons looked had an opportunity for an equalizer when Dakota Peterson’s shot was deflected out over the backline by a Blue Hen defender to set up a corner kick. Peterson sent in the corner and found his teammate Armin Efendic in front of the goal. However, Efendic’s shot was saved by Delaware’s keeper Todd Morton and the score was held at 1-0.
In the proceeding 21 minutes of play, Delware put heavy pressure on the Dragons’ defense. From the 23rd minute to the 44th minute, the Blue Hens attempted five shots and were awarded three corner kicks. Delaware was unable to capitalize on all but one of their shot attempts, which happened to be the final one of the 21 minute sequence.
In the 44th minute, Drexel’s keeper Tyler Afflerbach saved a shot that came off the foot of Delaware’s Dani Laguna. Unfortunately for the Dragons, Afflerbach’s save was deflected directly to the body of Fede Prieto. Prieto, wide open in front of the goal, capitalized on the opportunity and gave the Blue Hens a 2-0 lead at halftime with his second goal of the day.
At the beginning of the second halftime, the Dragons had an opportunity to get on the board when junior Colin McGlynn headed a shot attempt on goal in the 49th minute. However, McGlynn’s shot was cleaned up by the Blue Hens’ Todd Morton.
In the 62nd minute, Drexel once again had a golden opportunity to score when Aaron Thompson was able to get a shot past Morton. It appeared at first to be on target, but luck was not on the Dragons’ side as the ball traveled wide and clanked off the goal post.
In the 65th minute, Efendic attempted a shot for the Dragons, but it was blocked by a Delaware defender. Efendic’s shot would be the last one a Dragon would attempt all game as the Blue Hens held on for a 2-0 victory.
On an individual note, Afflerbach picked up the 209th save of his career in the 75th minute, which moved him into a tie with Cory Robertson for ninth place on Drexel’s all time career saves list. Afflerbach’s next save will move him into a tie with Dan McKendry for eighth place on that list.
The loss to Delaware dropped the Dragons to 1-6-2 on the season. More importantly, it was a loss in a Colonial Athletic Association match, so Drexel fell to 0-2 this season in the conference.
Earlier in the week, the Dragon’s fell 5-0 to University City riva,l University of Pennsylvania.
Much like the Blue Hens, the Quakers applied pressure on the Dragons early and took the first six shot attempts of the game. The Quakers converted on their fifth attempt, in the 23rd minute, when Alec Neumann scored the first goal of the game.
Efendic tried to answer for the Dragons by putting a shot on goal in the 25th minute, but his attempt was saved by the Quakers’ keeper Scott Forbes. Penn countered Drexel’s attack with a goal in the 26th minute, again off the foot of Neumann, and took a 2-0 lead.
Neumann continued to pour it on for the Quakers, scoring his third goal of the game in the 40th minute. In just 40 minutes of play, Neumann managed to pick up a hat trick and single-handedly give his team a 3-0 lead.
At the beginning of the second half, Efendic once again had a chance to get Drexel on the board. However, his shot in the 50th minute was saved by Forbes.
Penn scored their fourth goal in the 57th minute, which virtually put the game out of reach. The Quakers scored once more in the 86th minute, holding the Dragon’s scoreless, which made the final score 5-0.
Drexel’s next game is at home against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The Dragon’s will take on UNCW at Vidas Field at 4 p.m. Oct. 1.