SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team dropped a frustrating 1-0 match to local rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Liberty League action on a sunny Saturday afternoon at College Park Field.
Union (6-5-1, 1-2-0 Liberty League) drops its second straight conference contest and also sees its season-opening five-match home unbeaten streak come to an end with the loss, while Rensselaer (3-4-2, 1-0-1 Liberty League) picks up its first league win and first road victory of the season.
Union had the better of play in a grinding first half of action, conceding only one shot while taking four attempts on goal. Union junior
Dmitri Wild-Arons and RPI's Noah Churchill both made one save each in the opening 45 minutes.
The home team had a golden chance to get on the board first less than three minutes into the second half, when first-year
Joseph Carofano was taken down in the box and a penalty shot was awarded, but sophomore
Kofi Sarfoh did not put his attempt on target and the match remained scoreless.
Wild-Arons made one more save in the 68th minute to keep the scoreboard blank, while Union had one shot over the next 20 minutes as well. The only goal of the game was a tough one to swallow for the Garnet Chargers, as a corner kick by Owen Filler floated over a mass of people in the box and curled just under the crossbar in the 75th minute.
Union took two shots over the final 15 minutes in an attempt to find the equalizer. The squad had one last chance in the waning seconds, but a Carafano free kick was headed just over the bar by Sarfoh.
The Garnet Chargers took nine shots to the Engineers' four over the course of the 90 minutes and also earned four corners to RPI's three. Wild-Arons and Churchill both made two saves in goal.
Union will finish up its non-conference schedule on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. match at SUNY Canton.
