COLGATE ATHLETICS : MEN'S SOCCER : RELEASES

ST. BONAVENTURE BUILDS 4-1 LEAD; COLGATE COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AS BONNIES TAKE CONTEST 4-3

September 20, 2000

by Scott Schuster, Colgate Student Assistant

Hamilton, N.Y. – The Colgate University men’s soccer team lost a 4-3 decision to St. Bonaventure University in a non-conference contest at Van Doren Field Wednesday evening.

The loss ended the Red Raiders’ three-game winning streak and was also the first loss at home this season.

The Red Raiders (3-4-0) exhibited a valiant effort as they cut St. Bonaventure’s lead to one after the Bonnies (2-5-0) took a commanding three-goal lead. Colgate had a chance to tie the game in the final minute when Conor Harrison took a Jon Gelman pass and headed the ball towards the goal, but St. Bonaventure goalie Geoff Mauch came up with one of his seven saves on the evening.

“We just didn’t come out with enough energy tonight,” Colgate head coach Mike Doherty said.

Colgate jumped out to the early lead with the first marker at 13:14 on senior defender Josh Viel’s direct kick from 23 yards out.

However, St. Bonaventure followed with four unanswered goals including two in a four-minute span of the first half to take a 2-1 lead to the intermission. SBU’s first marker of the evening came when midfielder Sean Kelty beat Colgate goalie Jon Brunell to the ball in the 35^th minute of play. Johnny Phoumanny followed just three minutes later as he took a long lob pass from Kelty chipping it over the head of Brunell.

The Bonnies picked up right where they left off, with midfielder Joe Baiata’s score 29 seconds into the second half. Eric Bach closed out the Bonnies’ scoring with a deflection off Kelty’s hard shot from the corner.

Colgate turned up its offensive intensity late in the game as they mounted their comeback. Viel scored his second of the game when forward Brendan Skonieczki passed across the penalty box line for the score at 84:04. Skonieczki followed just three minutes later as freshman defender Brian McDermott stole the ball from a St. Bonaventure midfielder, stopped, and passed to a streaking Skonieczki, shrinking the Bonnies’ advantage to 4-3.

“The only time we started to play with some urgency was in the final five minutes,” Doherty added.

Colgate resumes action on Saturday, Sept. 22 travelling to Bucknell University in a Patriot League contest with kickoff at 4 p.m.