William Paterson Men’s Soccer played its final game on Wednesday, before conference play, in an attempt to refine its defensive and offensive approaches.
The Pioneers, entering the match 3-3-1, pulled off a shutout over Baruch College this Wednesday, improving their record to over .500.
Their first conference game will be this Saturday against Stockton University, where the question remains: Can the team shut them out, as they did last year?
Against Baruch College, the Pioneers fought to score in the entire first half. Still, they kept falling short with four total shots on goal, either going over the top and being wide, or getting saved by Baruch’s goalie, Dzmitry Piatrashaka.
Sophomore midfielder Davide Zamuner, Senior back Delvin Nketia, and senior midfielder Matty Escobar all contributed with attempts to score the first goal during the first half for William Paterson, but none converted.
Junior back Thomas Rogan and freshman midfielder Kai David gained two yellow cards throughout the first half between ball-handling battles. Senior back and captain Jimmy Bruno delivered clean passes and strong orders to his players throughout, keeping them alert on defense and aware of their open options.
When the team needed to communicate on defense, they did so effectively. Continuously shouting to each other what lines they had open and which shoulders, and players they needed to watch.
Both coaches were yelling, but William Paterson’s Coach, Matt Heitmann, delivered loud orders to his team throughout the first half, especially when free kicks or throw-ins were involved.
Although Baruch beat the Pioneers in height, the home team had them in speed, constantly outrunning the other team on drives towards the goal.
Despite the goalless first half, the Pioneers continued to deliver clean passes and clear communication, heading into the second half with optimism.
At the whistle for the second half, the energy on the field shifted with both teams hungry for a goal. Within the first 15 minutes, William Paterson attempted nine shots on the goal, every one of them aggressive.
Although passes between players seemed less clean, and there was more miscommunication on free kicks and corners, the Pioneers didn’t stop playing hard.
With a drawn-out foul, Escobar was given a free kick right behind the box of the goal, resulting in the first goal of the match, breaking the deadlock, and tallying the midfielder’s fifth goal of the season.
With both teams coming out more aggressively in the second half, more players were fouling each other, which kept stopping the flow of the ball. Baruch tallied a total of 13 fouls to William Paterson’s 11.
Still not satisfied with their 1-0 lead, the Pioneers continued to fight to score with five more shots on goal in the remaining 15 minutes, keeping as much possession of the ball as they could.
After fighting back and forth the entire second half, Baruch fell short 2-0 when goalie Luca Misko kicked the ball midfield, resulting in senior midfielder Jonathan Antonio and sophomore Patrick Kudron connecting a pass to Sophomore forward Vincent Richard, who then connected the ball with the back of the net for the Pioneers.
While the Pioneers managed a win, an opportunity to beat Stockton and their other upcoming conference opponents, the team will need to deliver clean passes and clear communication with each other to ensure they stay cleaner than the opposing team, just as they did on Wednesday.
