The Stony Brook men’s soccer team hosted the Vermont Catamounts at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Wednesday night. Stony Brook fell to the Catamounts 2-1.
The Seawolves are still searching for their first conference victory after tying Binghamton on Sept. 30 and losing at UMass Lowell on Oct. 7. The 2-1 loss marks the team’s second straight defeat.
Senior forward Vince Erdei tried to jumpstart the team after he scored his eighth goal of the season off a penalty kick in the 65th minute. Already down 2-0, the team was awarded a penalty kick after the referee called a handball on the Catamounts in the penalty area. Erdei stepped up to the ball and shot it into the top right corner of the net to cut the lead in half.
That was the only goal the Seawolves would score for the remainder of the game. While having several opportunities in the last 25 minutes of play – including several wide-open goal chances – the team was unable to capitalize on those chances and could not tie the game before the final whistle sounded.
Vermont was the stronger team from the opening whistle. The Catamounts were faster, stronger and controlled possession more than Stony Brook in the first half. Instead of moving the ball through passes, Stony Brook just kicked the ball up the field, hoping a forward or a midfielder would win the ball.
Meanwhile, a defender for the Catamounts would win the ball, starting on the counterattack. On one counterattack, Catamounts freshman midfielder Daði Bærings Halldórsson dribbled behind the Seawolves defense and found junior forward Geo Alves with a pass. Alves was able to score off the feed to give Vermont a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute.
Vermont scored again off the boot of junior forward Justin Freitas in the 55th minute. After sophomore midfielder Jon Arnar Barðdal received a pass off a free kick from Alves, Barðdal crossed the ball into the box and found Freitas. Freitas knocked the ball into the back of the net for a commanding 2-0 lead.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Braham made his sixth straight start for the Seawolves and made five saves on the night. He starts in place of redshirt-senior goalkeeper Tom McMahon, who has been out of the lineup since Sept. 16 due to a leg injury from a game against Bryant.
McMahon’s absence seems to be impacting the team, as their record has suffered since his injury. In games where the redshirt-senior started – not including the Bryant game in which he played 51 minutes – the team was 4-1-1. Since McMahon’s injury, the Seawolves hold a record of 1-3-2.
Stony Brook falls to 0-2-1 in conference play and holds an overall record of 6-4-3. The team looks to right the ship and snap their two-game losing streak when they host Hartford on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at LaValle Stadium.
