The Cabrini men’s soccer team suffered a heart breaking 3-2 loss in double overtime against Centenary College at Edith Robb Dixon Field on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The loss ended the Cavalier’s three game winning streak, which put their record at 3-8-0.
Junior forward Eric Collins, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, got Cabrini on the board within the very first minute of the game. He found an opening inside the box and fired a shot from the near post off a pass from freshman midfielder C.J. Doherty that beat Centenary’s junior goalkeeper Jason Rogers.
The fans and players roared in excitement as Collins was mobbed at mid-field by his teammates in celebration.
The Cavaliers put another goal on the board in minute 31 of the first half, when freshman midfielder Taylor Scarpino scored his first career goal off a flick feed from sophomore midfielder Ryan Juhring. Junior Kyle Johnson also earned an assist on the throw in.
That was about as good as it got for the Cavaliers, as it was all Centenary from that point on.
Centenary’s Jimmy Corey scored in minute 38 to bring the Cyclones within a goal going into the half. Daniel Berniz assisted Corey’s goal.
Berniz then tied the game in minute 70 when he took a pass from junior back Kyle Thompson and beat Cabrini freshman goalkeeper Eric Nowicki.
Thompson scored the overtime winner in minute 103 when he took a corner kick feed from junior forward Eric Pinnella.
Centenary’s Reid Meeker and Mike Burke received the only yellow cards of the match. Centenary also out-shot Cabrini 13-12.
This was Cabrini’s first loss in over a year against a Colonial States Athletic Conference opponent. The loss snapped their CSAC 10-match winning streak.
Despite the heart breaker, Cabrini managed to recover in commanding fashion.
“It was hard to regroup after that game,” Kyle Johnson, junior back, said. “The coaches told us that even though you want something, you’re not going to get it. So if we want to win we have to go out there and prove that we want it more than anyone else.”
That is exactly what they did in their next game.
On Saturday, Oct. 9, the Cavs beat CSAC opponent Keystone College 4-1 at Edith Robb Dixon Field. Once again, it was Eric Collins who led the way for Cabrini. Collins scored three goals to propel the Cavaliers to victory and left them with a record of 4-8-0.
Cabrini was undoubtedly out dominant. They out shot Keystone 15-7 for the match and goalkeeper Eric Nowicki came up big when he was needed the most. He made a spectacular diving stop during the second half to keep what was Cabrini’s one goal lead at that point.
“After a few days of rough practices we realized that we needed to play with more heart and desire and we did against Keystone,” Johnson said.
Nowicki played all but 5 minutes of the game. He was relieved in the final five minutes by senior goalkeeper Mike Viscariello.
Sophomore midfielder Pat Wehring scored his first goal of the season in minute 81 and put the Cavaliers up 3-1 off a re-start. Troy Allen earned his first assist of the season on the play.
The first of Collins’ three goals came in minute 11 of the first half, which put Cabrini up 1-0 at that point. His second goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came in the minute 57 off a feed from Doherty and his assist was his third of the year.
Collins’ final goal put the game away for good in minute 84 off a feed from senior back Mitchel Snodgrass. All of Collins’ eight goals this season have come in the last five matches.
Cabrini’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 16 against Gwynedd-Mercy College. It will be their fifth straight game at Edith Robb Dixon Field.
