Shreveport- The Centenary men's soccer team dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Austin College 'Roos on Sunday afternoon in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at Mayo Field.
The Gents (2-7-5, 1-4 SCAC) were aiming for their second-consecutive win after blanking Dallas 2-0 on Friday night. The 'Roos improved to 3-9-1 overall and 2-3 in conference play with the win. Centenary lost for the first time at home as the Maroon and White are now 2-1-3 at Mayo Field this season.
Austin College struck first as Pierce Wear found the net in the ninth minute off the assist from Kyle Nimon for an early 1-0 lead. Senior MF Jaron Petreas (Denton, Texas) was then fouled inside the box and connected on his penalty kick to tie the score in the 29th minute. The goal was Petreas' team-high seventh as he scored for the fourth time in the last eight matches. He is now tied for second place for most goals in a season in the division III era (2011-present) and is also second all-time in the career rankings. He has 12 goals, six assists, 30 points, 91 shots (32 SOG), three game-winning goals, and is a perfect 4-4 all-time on PK's.
Just over a minute later, the 'Roos again fouled the Gents as they made their attack and sophomore F Ron Masti (Houston, Texas) nailed his PK attempt for a 2-1 lead. Masti is now second on the team in goals (4) and points (8) this season.
The barrage of PK's continued as Nimon scored less than a minute later to tie the score at 2-2. The match was tied at the half until Ethan Pilarski gave the 'Roos the lead and the eventual winning goal in the 61st minute as he scored an unassisted goal for a 3-2 advantage.
Fouls and yellow cards were a constant theme throughout the match as 32 fouls were called, 21 on the 'Roos and 11 on the Gents with several infractions on the visitors that seemed worthy of cards but were not called. In the end, four 'Roos were issued cards, two in each half. Austin College out-shot Centenary 15-14 and took eight shots on goal to six for the Gents. Centenary took five corner kicks to Austin's four.
Gents' senior goalkeeper Sami Borchalli (Lafayette, La.) started and played all 90 minutes as he made five saves. He followed up an impressive performance on Friday in which he recorded a season-best 11 saves and now needs just 17 more to become the all-time leader in the division III era (2011-present).
Austin College GK Connor Tullis, who was issued one of the 'Roos' four yellow cards, also played all 90 minutes and made four saves. Four Austin College players went the distance in the match while five Gents played all 90 minutes.
Despite the loss, it was a special afternoon at Mayo Field as several former Gents were recognized at halftime on "Alumni Day" and the 2020-21 SCAC Championship team was also recognized before the match with a banner that was presented and will be hung at Mayo Field.
The Gents remain home for their final two matches of the regular season at Mayo Field, as they face Schreiner University next Friday, Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. and then Trinity University on Sunday, Oct. 23 at Noon for Senior Day. The Gents then finish the season at St. Thomas on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Houston.
See the complete Gents' schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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