MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's soccer team lost a closely contested match to Lesley University on Sunday afternoon at Walter M. Katz Field. The Lynx improve to 2-0-0 on the year after the 1-0 victory while the Colonels slip to 0-2-0.
Both defenses controlled the action as the match got underway, as the first shot of the contest for either team did not come until the seventh minute. It would be 12 more minutes until the match saw a shot on goal, as Kuda Muhlauri (Harare, Zimbabwe) sent a left-footed shot towards Lesley goalkeeper David Crutchfield (Shrewsbury, Mass.). Crutchfield failed to secure the stop cleanly, but managed to collect his second save of the day on Seth Blasingim's (Draper, Utah) attempt to capitalize on the rebound. Curry went on to outshoot the Lynx 7-2 in the first half, but the score stood at 0-0 at the intermission.
Coming out of the break, the Colonels ruled possession time, managing three shots in the first ten minutes of the second frame, but were not able to direct any on net. The teams went back-and-forth trading shots, but it was Lesley who broke the scoreless tie. In the 73rd minute, a free-kick off the boot of Ben Heischuber (Holliston, Mass.) found its way to Andrew Medeiros (Bristol, R.I.), who beat Curry goalie Paul DeMaio (North Andover, Mass.) high, giving the Lynx a 1-0 edge. The Colonels tested Crutchfield as the clock continued to tick, notably as freshman Richard Silva (Pompano Beach, Fla.) found a hole through the defense, sending a ball that looked to be headed for the back of the net, but the Lynx net-minder protected his lower right side and collected the save. Curry looked to keep the pressure on the senior goalie, but their best shot went wide right as an attempted bicycle kick from Blasingim off a corner missed its mark in the 88th minute. Jonathan Caldwell (East Weymouth, Mass.) took the final Colonel shot of the day with a minute and a half remaining, but Crutchfield secured the low liner and locked up his first shutout of the season.
Silva (five shots, one on goal) and Blasingim (four shots, two on goal) headed the stat sheet for the Colonels, while DeMaio tallied one save. Crutchfield grabbed five saves to turn in a clean slate, while Medeiros (2) and Sean Pugatch (Norwood, Mass., 2) led the Lynx in shots.
Lesley returns to the field next weekend, as they travel to take on the Rams of Suffolk University on Saturday, September 7 at 3:00 p.m. The Colonels get back to action this Wednesday, September 4, as they seek their first win on the season. Curry stays home and will take on Mass Maritime at 6:30 p.m.
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