The Davidson men’s soccer team dropped its first contest of the season against Virginia Tech Sept. 19, losing 2-1 to the Hokies (3-4), at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Junior midfielder Coleman Richards scored the lone goal for Davidson in the loss, upping his season total to three.
Following Virginia Tech senior forward Marcelo Acuna’s penalty kick goal in the 26th minute, scoring for either squad wasn’t to be had for the remainder of the 45-minute half.
The Wildcats faced a half time deficit for the first time since their game vs. Winthrop September 9, which Davidson won 2-1.
In the 64th minute, Richards fired the equalizer, tying the game at 1-1. His marker pushed his point total to seven on the year, leading VT.
In the 81st minute, Hokies freshman Kristo Strickler picked the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal. A late-game tally by the midfielder put VT up 2-1, a lead that would hold until the final buzzer.
Senior goalie Ben Lundgaard was huge for the Hokies, racking up six saves and picking up his 26th career win.
Davidson will look to bounce back against Notre Dame September 22 at home.
Rhode Island’s game versus Harvard canceled, Rams earn draw against UNH
On September 19, Rhode Island had its home match against Harvard cancelled due to the threat of a potential hurricane and turbulent weather. The Rams had a 3-2-1 record heading into the game, and looked to secure a victory against the one-win Crimson.
Hurricane Jose prevented the game from taking place, however, and with less than two weeks before Atlantic 10 conference play kicks off, there is no word on if the game will be rescheduled.
URI battled No. 16 New Hampshire to a 0-0, double overtime draw September 16 in Durham.
Ram’s senior goalie Nils Leifhelm was clutch for URI, making four saves in the lengthy affair.
Not to be outdone, UNH’s goalie Andrew Pesci matched Leifhelm save for save, recording five in the contest.
The Windham, New Hampshire native bailed out the Wildcats on numerous occasions, most notably in the 96th minute, when URI junior Liam Daley fired a shot six feet out that was turned away by the post-graduate senior.
Following the stop, URI and UNH would play for another 14 minutes in overtime until time ran out in the extra period.
Leifhelm awarded Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors
URI goaltender Nils Leifhelm had his remarkable performance against UNH rewarded with an A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Week honor, announced earlier this week. Leifhelm has had an excellent season, notching his fifth shutout of the year, and 19th of his career, after the draw against New Hampshire.
Leifhelm recorded three consecutive shutouts for the first time in his career, and has not allowed a goal in 290 straight minutes of play.
Fordham’s Rashid Nuhu joined Leifhelm as this week’s other defensive honoree. The junior goalkeeper from Accara, Ghana, recorded his fourth clean sheet, blanking Quinnipiac 1-0 Sept 16.
Nuhu’s teammate Janos Loebe joined him in the weekly honors, taking home the Player of the Week award. The 5-foot-11 junior midfielder/forward scored both game-winning goals for Fordham this past week, in its 2-1 win against Marist and its 1-0 victory over Quinnipiac.
Tim Sorota can be reached at [email protected].
