NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University men’s soccer battled until the very end, but fell to the visiting Marist College (7-2-1, 2-1-0 MAAC), 2-1, at Niagara Field Friday.
Niagara (1-8-1, 1-1-0 MAAC) got behind early in the contest, giving up a goal to Marist forward Keith Detelj just four minutes into the game. Detelj hit a heavy shot high into the left side of the Niagara net, beating goalkeeper Dan O’Shea (East Syracuse, N.Y.), scoring his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
"We came out very flat in the first half, giving up a silly goal early. We really didn’t pick it up until the last 10 minutes of the first half," head coach Dermot McGrane said.
Adding to the frustrations of the Niagara side was a near goal scored by freshman forward Rafael Venturini (Vitoria, Brazil) midway into the first half. Similar to his free-kick goal scored against Canisius Tuesday, Venturini sent a curling shot over the Marist wall, but caught the inside of the left post against the Red Foxes, keeping the score at 1-0.
A goal by Marist defender Peter Rea late in the first half put the deficit at two goals going into halftime. Rea took a through-pass from Marist forward Patrick Safino and beat O’Shea on a one-on-one opportunity to score his first goal of the season and put Niagara down 2-0 with a half to play.
Mirroring their last contest, played Tuesday against Canisius, the Purple Eagles came out with a different attitude for the second half of the game.
Just two minutes into the half, sophomore defender Mark Spooner (Derby, England) sent a free-kick into the Marist net, scoring his first goal of the season, and reducing the Red Foxes’ lead to 2-1. Confused on the play was the Marist defense and goalkeeper Mike Valenti. The junior goalkeeper did not make an attempt on the ball and watched it bounce into his net. A host of Niagara players jockeying for position in the box added to the confusion.
The Purple Eagles relentlessly attacked the Marist goal following Spooner’s goal. Several scoring opportunities went high and wide of the Red Foxes’ net, including two shots by graduate student midfielder Ewan Henderson (Lincoln, England) that narrowly missed the Marist goal. Henderson led the Purple Eagles in shots with four in the contest.
With time winding down in the regulation, and Niagara continuing to pressure the Marist defense, a shot by junior midfielder Simon Adair (Oakville, Ont.) beat Valenti in the Marist net but found the outside of the left post, denying the Purple Eagles a much-deserved equalizer.
With only seconds remaining, a free-kick shot by Venturini went wide of the Marist goal, ending the game in favor of the Red Foxes at 2-1.
"We really picked it up in the second half and were unlucky not to get a result," McGrane said following the game.
Luck has not been with the Purple Eagles thus far into the 2003 season. Niagara has hit the post/crossbar on more than 15 scoring opportunities this season, including three in Friday’s loss.
Niagara out shot Marist 15-14 in the contest. Valenti made five saves to pick up his fourth win of the season. O’Shea made four saves for the Purple Eagles.
Niagara returns to the field Sunday against Siena at 3 p.m. at Niagara Field. Admission to the game is free.
