ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University Men's Soccer team fell short in the annual Alfred Derby against Alfred State by a score of 2-1.
The Saxons were led by Gavin Culley (Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy) who scored a goal and recorded three shots. Jaime Mendo Robles (Zaragoza, Spain/Hoosac) added an assist for Alfred. Goalkeeper Matthew Osmundson (Draper, UT/Juan Diego Catholic) recorded six saves for AU.
"Tough loss tonight against a strong Alfred State team." Head Coach Tracy Blake said. "We had several opportunities to get level and maybe pull ahead."
The Saxons fought back after falling behind 2-0 in the first thirty minutes. Culley found the back of the net on a ball played in by Mendo Robles just before the half time break to bring the score to 2-1. The tide turned further for the Saxons early in the second half when Alfred State had a player sent off, which brought them down to ten men the rest of the way. The Saxons peppered the net with shots in the second half, outshooting the Pioneers 12-2 and had eight corner kicks to none. In the end though, the Pioneers were able to withstand the storm and held on to win 2-1.
"Very happy with the team's attitude against an overly physical team. Solid effort by everyone tonight." Blake said. "We need to play with the same commitment on Saturday in the Empire-8"
Alfred University will next travel back across the street for their first Empire-8 home game against Keuka College. The match is set to kickoff at 1 PM on Saturday, September 23rd.
