SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team had its postseason hopes take a hit on a brisk Wednesday evening in Schenectady, falling to Bard College by a 1-0 score in Liberty League action at College Park Field.
The loss drops Union (8-8-1, 2-5-0 Liberty League) into a tie for eighth place in the conference standings with two matches remaining. The Garnet Chargers will need to win at least one of their final two matches in order to have a chance at earning a spot in the conference tournament.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the opening 45 minutes, with Bard (9-4-2, 1-4-2 Liberty League) starting off with the early advantage. Junior
Dmitri Wild-Arons made a save in the opening 65 seconds before the home team responded with some offensive pressure, but the Raptors broke through in the 18th minute when Wild-Arons denied a shot by Emmett Olson only for Luca Constanzo to kick home the rebound.
Union had several chances later in the frame, including a 32nd-minute shot by sophomore
Cauan Souza that was saved by Jake Sudit and a rocket off the crossbar by junior
Max Berger in the 44th minute, but the score remained 1-0 at the half.
The Garnet Chargers put nine shots toward the Raptors' net in the second half, but Sudit saved the only three on-target attempts. The Bard keeper made a nice diving save to deny Souza in the 51st minute, and the home team had a goal waved off due to offsides in the final seconds of the 69th minute as well. The intensity increased further for Union as the minutes waned, but the home team could only manage one off-target attempt over the final 12-plus minutes of the contest.
Union finished the evening with a 15-10 edge in shots, with Wild-Arons making three saves for Union and Sudit stopping four shots for Bard.
Union will look to keep its postseason hopes alive on Saturday when the Garnet Chargers travel to #9 Hobart College for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
