The Stony Brook men’s soccer team’s worst offensive performance of the year so far lead to its first-ever loss in the CAA.
The Seawolves (3-2, 1-1 CAA) traveled down to North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 10 to face off against the Elon Phoenix for their first road game of the conference season. Stony Brook came away with a 1-0 defeat after being shut down by the Elon defense.
Elon scored the only goal of the game just over two minutes into the first half. Elon forward Mason Duval received a pass from defender Vemund Hole Vik and tapped it through the goalkeeper’s hands to give Elon the early lead.
The one goal was too much for the Stony Brook offense, as they were shutout for the second time this season. The team tallied only four shots in total with none being on target. The defense was not much better, as they allowed 17 total shots, with eight being on net.
The Seawolves’ best chance to score came in the 30th minute when defender Sebastian Rojek hit the right post on a free kick. However, Stony Brook’s offense was unable to secure a rebound before the Elon defense cleared it.
Goalkeeper Curtis Copenhaver was a bright spot for Stony Brook. He tallied seven saves to keep the Seawolves alive in the match. His one mistake was on the only goal he surrendered, where a miscommunication with his defense led to Duval scoring. Copenhaver took a late break on the ball, leaving the net open for Duval to shoot it past him.
Copenhaver’s seven saves give him 15 in total for the season, which is the most in the CAA. His save percentage is up to .789 this year after that performance.
The only other Seawolves that attempted a shot were forwards Jonas Bičkus and Selcuk Kahveci alongside midfielder Moses Bakabulindi.
The Seawolves offense was unlucky, as well. They were unable to produce a single corner kick during the game. Before this match, Stony Brook was averaging 6.75 corner kicks per game. Coming off a game in which they scored twice off of corners against Columbia, the Seawolves certainly could have used some of those same attempts against Elon.
Stony Brook will return to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 13, to face off against the Merrimack Warriors. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Merrimack is 2-3 on the season after beating UMass Lowell 2-0 on Saturday.
