SBU Sports: Men’s soccer drops home opener to Rider

SBU Sports: Men’s soccer drops home opener to Rider

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#21 Alex Fleury during last Thursday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

A tally late in the game was the difference maker on Aug. 29 as the Stony Brook men’s soccer team was defeated by the Rider Broncs, 1-0. The loss drops the Seawolves to 0-2-1 on the season.

Both Stony Brook and Rider kept each other off the scoreboard through the first half with a dominating display of defensive prowess. The Seawolves were able to fire off six shots through the opening 45 minutes on the back of Trevor Harrison.

Stony Brook was able to then tally another six shots in the second half and create a late flurry of possession and pressure, but a backwards pass wrangled by the Broncs’ Bryan Akongo would become the deciding goal for Rider in the 87th minute. 

One of Stony Brook’s best chances of the night came in the 62nd minute, when Alex Fleury fired a shot from the top of the box that ultimately hit the crossbar.

“Overall, from a performance standpoint, I thought we started off a little slow in the first half through the first 10-15 minutes, but then I thought we were pretty good, creating some chances and moving the ball pretty well,” head coach Ryan Anatol stated postgame.

“Second half, we were on top of them for large periods and created some good chances, one hit off the post. We got to score goals and put some of those away. We kept them in the game and then a mistake at this level, you get punished. I’m disappointed with the result, but I thought we defended well and were solid on both sides of the ball. We just have to finish our chances and can’t give up the ball like that,” he added.

The team was back on their home pitch looking for their first win of the season on September 3 as they took on George Washington. Results were not available as of press time.