PORTSMOUTH - Men's soccer just could not find the back of the net Monday afternoon in its 1-0 loss against St. Catharine. The Bears (7-9-1, 2-6-1 MSC) outshot the visiting Patriots (4-14, 1-8 MSC) 20-8 over the 90 minutes but just couldn't seem to put the ball away.
After St. Catharine took two of the first three shots to start the contest in the opening 12 minutes, Shawnee State did not allow another shot until the 26th minute while also putting four of their own shots on goal during that time. By the time the game had reached halftime, SSU owned a 10-4 advantage in shots, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal.
St. Catharine would tally the game's lone goal in the opening minutes of the second half. After a foul in SSU's defensive third, St. Catharine set up its free kick. Once the kick made its way into the box, Abdikadir Mohamed found Sawyer Abshire for the finish to put the Patriots up 1-0.
The Bears kept attacking all the way up until the final whistle as they earned five corner kick chances in the final 10 minutes of the game. For the game, SSU finished with a 17-3 advantage in corner kicks. However, St. Catharine goalie CJ Powell would not let anything through as he finished with the shutout, making 13 saves on the day.
Thomas Carbonari finished with four saves in the contest. Nine different starters, including Carbonari who pushed up into the offensive third in the final moments, recorded a shot for the game. Jacob Hackworth, Martyn Sayer and Joseph Winters (who recorded his shots after coming off the bench) tied for the team-high with three shots.
Hackworth was also named the Portsmouth Pizzeria Man of the Match following the game.
The Bears will close out the regular season this Wednesday at home against Ohio Mid-Western at 4 p.m. That game will also serve as Senior Day for the four members of the senior class on this year's team.
With today's loss, the Bears will finish the regular season in eighth place overall in the conference standings. Men's soccer will travel to the MSC Regular Season Champion in their MSC Tournament Opener. Lindsey Wilson is currently leading the conference and can clinch the regular season title with a win over Bluefield this Saturday. The MSC Tournament Quarterfinals will be played in the second weekend of November.
