No. 9 Saint Leo and West Florida battle to 0-0 draw
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Saint Leo men's soccer team had momentum on their side for the majority of the 110 minutes of play, but the Lions were unable to capitalize on their offensive opportunities and settled with a 0-0 draw against the University of West Florida on Sunday afternoon at University Field.
The south region stalemate puts the Lions at a record of 2-0-2 on the season, while the Argonauts move to a record of 1-3-1.
After a slow start, the Lions controlled the pace of play for the majority of the contest, but were unable to capitalize on their openings. Out of the Lions' 22 shots, seven of those were placed on frame. Jules Verdin, Maximilian Schulze-Geisthovel, and Nicolas Krause each fired off four shots, while Matthias Katerna got credit for three. Melvin Agyei Boateng and Tobias Runowski each fired off two, while Matt Campbell, Kandai Otsuka, and Jorge Braham shot one apiece. Out of the barrage of shots fired off by the Lions, Shulze-Geisthovel and Krause placed two on goal, while Agyei Boateng, Runowski, and Campbell placed one each on target.
"We're a bit frustrated right now. In games like today and against Clayton State, we're executing in certain areas, but we're not putting everything together," said head coach Keith Fulk. "We're not implementing the fundamentals of soccer, plain and simple. Until we can put together a complete game, we're going to continue to get the unsatisfactory results that we're getting."
The Argonauts opened up the first half with the tempo on their side, with Alik Morgan firing off a shot in the seventh minute that was saved by Manuel Schoenhuber. Felipe Oliveira shot two more over the span of two minutes, but a yellow card on Jorge Chirinos in the 16th minute helped swing the momentum in the Lions' favor.
The Lions were able to gain possession and fire off two corner kicks and a shot by Otsuka in the 26th minute that sailed high, but Saint Leo was unable to capitalize on their offensive side of the pitch in the first 45 minutes of action.
The second stanza opened up with a flurry of action as Saint Leo outshot the Argonauts 5-1 in the first 10 minutes. Andre Moreira came up with two saves to help keep the Lions off the scoreboard in the opening minutes, and then came up big with a save off of a booming shot by Shulze-Geisthovel in the 59th minute of action to once again stymie the Green and Gold.
The Lions didn't back down, getting off two more shots on frame that were thwarted by Moreira much to their chagrin. In comparison to the first 45 minutes of play, Saint Leo was able to fire off 14 shots to the Argos' one. Moreira's five second half saves kept the Lions off the board, sending the game into extra time.
The Lions entered into overtime with a vengeance, firing off five shots, three of which were blocked, and one that was saved by Moreira. A staunch back line for the Green and Gold held the Argos at bay, keeping them from any offensive chances in the first 10 minutes. The second overtime period saw West Florida and Saint Leo earn two shots apiece, with both Schoenhuber and Moreira earning one save each.
Overall, Schoenhuber earned two saves on the day after seeing just eight shots from West Florida, two of which were on target. His opposition, Moreira, collected seven saves in his first outing of the season.
"Today's game could be just what we need to get our heads back in the game," Fulk concluded. "I've been telling them it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Hopefully today's game is a wake-up call, and a perfect example of how far we still need to go."
The Saint Leo men's soccer team returns to action on Wednesday, September 24, when they open Sunshine State Conference play against Eckerd College on the road. Game time against the Tritons is set for 7 p.m. For more information, please visit SaintLeoLions.com.
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