Stony Brook Men’s Soccer played a tightly-contested game against the University of Buffalo Thursday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium which ended in a 1-1 draw.
“I didn’t think this game was our best performance,” head coach Ryan Antol spoke about after the game. “I definitely think we have played better in about 4-5 other games this season. We just need to learn from games like this and move on, hopefully then we will have a better result.”
The first half was a stalemate between the two teams, as both headed into halftime deadlocked in a scoreless tie.
“Coach said the first half was sloppy for us,” sophomore forward Vince Erdei said. “He pointed out at halftime that we need to push harder, press Buffalo more, and to raise the energy in the second half. He told us that he knew we were going to get chances and finish them.”
The game was swayed in Stony Brook’s direction after Erdei flicked the ball off his head into the back of the net from senior midfielder Alejandro Fritz’s free kick in the 66th minute.
“Vince worked hard the whole game, and he’s been finishing the ball a lot better,” Anatol said. “It’s nice to score off a restart, it feels good.”
However, the Seawolves seemed to lower their intensity after going up 1-0, and allowed an 85th minute goal to Buffalo midfielder Hunter Walsh. Walsh had a side of the foot finish to the far post from the top of the box.
As overtime was played, Stony Brook had chances to put the game away. Freshman forward Breno Lustosa had a volley that sailed just wide of the lower left corner of the goal off of Erdei’s header. Shots were flying from outside the box on free kicks to inside the box with saves made by keeper Cameron Hogg.
“We deserve to win games like these,” Anatol said. “When you play better than the other team for a majority of the game and the end result is a tie after overtime, it shows that we need to learn how to win games in the crucial moment.”
Erdei came out as the star of this game, adding his third goal to the season, all of which have come in the last week.
“I always work hard during practice and in the games,” Erdei said about his recent stretch. “It seems to be mostly luck I feel, but I go in thinking one game at a time, because one day I can be the leader for this team, and others a totally different person who doesn’t have as big an impact.”
The Seawolves are now 2-4-2 on the season and they play one more game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday, Sept. 27th, before starting conference play.
“Obviously, this game is going to make us learn from our mistakes, motivate us to come out better and stronger next game,” Erdei said, looking positive for the future. “Hopefully, with this game in our heads, we can start a run for ourselves and be ready when it’s time.”
