HOBOKEN, NJ – The University of Rochester men's soccer program suffered a 1-0 loss in their road matchup with the Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.
The Ducks' defense limited the Yellowjackets to just six shots, three of which were on goal. However, UR's offense ticked up in the second, with five of the six coming in the second period.
Johnny Makula had the strongest offensive performance for UR, with three shots and one on goal.
Rochester's first shot of the game came after
Nick Swanger sent a cross into the box, which was deflected by a Stevens' defender.
Alessio Cristanetti-Walker recovered the deflection, but couldn't get a clean shot off and it was saved by Stevens' goalie Guillermo Castaneda-Chang.
The rest of the first half was played conservatively by both sides with a stellar defensive display.
Rochester picked up the pace slightly at the start of the second half with three shots in the first five minutes of play, but none were able to find the back of the net.
Pasquale Carusone had Rochester's first scoring opportunity of the second half after a pass from Makula set him up 10 yards outside of the goal, but stellar play by the Ducks' defense stopped the opportunity.
UR then followed with a stellar shot from Carusone, but a great save from Castaneda-Chang left things still scoreless.
With 20 minutes to play, a foul just outside the box gave Stevens a free kick in front of the net. Dylan Maund took the kick, and while it was blocked by the Rochester wall, Maund took the rebound and fired it to the lower-left corner for Stevens' first score and only goal of the match.
Down 1-0, Rochester pressed forward, but couldn't find the equalizer. With less than 15 seconds left, Rochester earned a corner kick, but couldn't convert into a score. After a deflection by Stevens' goalie,
Kamal Ibrahim had his first shot opportunity of the day, but it was blocked by a defender.
With the loss, UR falls to 5-2-2 on the season, while Stevens moves to 3-2-3.
The Yellowjackets continue the 2024 season with a home matchup on October 2 against Nazareth University at 7:00 p.m.
