photo by Samantha Robinson, Point Park Athletics
Senior midfielder Max Flick takes control of the field during their game last
week against WVU Tech.
Point Park men’s soccer prolonged its three-game, seven consecutive halves goal drought until it gained a 4-1 victory over Cincinnati Christian.
“The win [against Cincinnati Christian] was very important,” said Point Park forward Alan Ramos. “It got us back some of the confidence we had lost during the past [few] games.”
The Pioneers went 1-1 last week, which brought their overall record to 5-5-1 and their Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) record to 1-2.
On Sept. 30, the undefeated West Virginia Tech Golden Bears defeated Point Park 2-0, which was the Pioneers’ third straight game without amassing a single goal.
“The lack of goals is definitely a concern for the team,” said Pioneers goalie Zak Borzovoy. “It’s the role of every individual to contribute to creating scoring chances.”
In the first half against West Virginia Tech, the Pioneers were presented with opportunities to score, but they were unable to capitalize.
With under 29 minutes left in the first half, Ramos head-butted the ball from just outside of the goalie’s box in a scoring attempt, but Golden Bears goalie Hunter Morales corralled the ball before it went in the net.
Approximately 15 minutes left in the first half, West Virginia Tech midfielder Joaquin Rodriguez was issued a red card and was ejected from the game. The Golden Bears were forced to play a man down for the remainder of the game.
Following the red card, the Pioneers recorded two more shots; one of which was on goal.
“In the first half, we had them beat, but we couldn’t capitalize and didn’t take advantage of the red card they received,” Ramos said.
Just under five minutes into the second half, Golden Bears Midfielder Sam Laughton scored a goal.
The Golden Bears then struck again on a goal from midfielder Jose Segarra with 27:44 left on the clock.
The Pioneers failed to muster up any offense in the second half, as they did not produce any shots on goal.
“In the second half, we just didn’t keep the ball well enough or create any good chances to take the game,” said Pioneers defender Paul Carr.
On the road, Point Park defeated Cincinnati Christian 4-1 on Oct. 3, which is the team’s first win in the conference this year. The triumph is also the first time since the Pioneers’ season opener that they have scored more than two goals in a single game.
“It felt great to get some goals in,” Ramos said. “Our offense really needed that, and we have to keep the goals coming in order to win more games.”
In the first half, the Pioneers racked up three goals against Cincinnati Christian.
At 29:29, Carr ended Point Park’s offensive drought with a goal.
“It was nice to take some pressure off the rest of the guys,” Carr said. “I thought when I scored, we would score more, and we did.”
Just 21 seconds later, the Pioneers got on the board again: midfielder Dominic Canello scored off an assist from Ramos.
Cincinnati Christian added a goal 2:53 later, making the score 2-1 Point Park.
Ramos put the ball in the back of the net at just over two minutes to play in the first half; it is his third goal of the season, which leads the team. Finally, Pioneers defender Josh Williams scored at 61:49.
“After the bad run of results we have had, it was nice to finally get a win,” Carr said.
“Hopefully, we can kick on now and make a habit out of winning games.”
The Pioneers’ next matchup is at Washington Adventist on Oct. 8.
“We don’t know much about this team,” Carr said, “but I’m sure it will be a tough, competitive game the boys will be looking forward to.”
