PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Men's Soccer) – The Shawnee State men's soccer program turned in a hard-fought effort against a high-quality Campbellsville team on Wednesday evening as the Bears kept the Tigers (6-2, 3-0 Mid-South) scoreless after the first 45 minutes of play due to strong backline play.
Despite a great all-around effort from Shawnee State (5-6, 2-1 Mid-South) to keep the game close, the Campbellsville offense would prove to be too strong as the Bears lost their first conference match of the season at the Shawnee Turf.
On the day, the Bears were outshot by the Tigers by a 20-10 margin, including a 14-3 mark in shots on goal.
However, the gritty defensive play of Ben Pulsford (SR/Slough, England), Dylan Stevens (SR/Canal Winchester, Ohio), and Aaron Mazurkiewicz (FR/Vincent, Ohio), along with the added efforts of Brandon Pfeiffer (SO/Canal Winchester, Ohio) in goal, kept Campbellsville from finding many clean looks throughout the entirety of the first half.
When the Tiger offense was able to get a clear run at the goal, Pfeiffer was there to make the stop for Shawnee State as the sophomore goalkeeper made three saves in the first half, and 10 overall.
This included a spectacular stop in the 29th minute on Marcelo Petit after the senior forward had a clear breakway from the rest of the pack, which played an integral role in keeping the score notted at a 0-0 mark at the end of the first half.
In the second half of play, Campbellsville readjusted their offensive approach and began putting the pressure on from the outset of the second frame.
With less than two and a half minutes gone, that aforementioned pressure would pay off for the Tigers as Ryan Foster caught Pfeiffer out of position after a beautiful save by the Canal Winchester, Ohio native on a shot by Petit to finish a shot on the far side of the net and give Campbellsville a 1-0 advantage in the 47th minute of action.
Instead of folding, the Shawnee State offensive attack answered back with a stronger charge than the Bears had been able to formulate all game.
As a result, Sayer was able to answer with a goal from right in the middle of the penalty box as the junior struck five minutes later by launching a shot that deflected off of the right post and fell into the lower left side of the net in the 52nd minute to tie the score at a 1-1 tally.
The Tigers, however, came right back with a charge of their own.
Ten minutes after their first goal of the contest, Petit was able to make his mark on the contest as the Asuncion, Paraguay native took a pass from Foster and connected on a shot from 22 yards away to give Campbellsville the 2-1 advantage.
Over the next 30 minutes, both teams would drive frantically into the other's end, looking for room to add a game-changing goal. Neither, however, could find the opening.
In the 85th minute, the Bears got their best opportunity to strike since the Sayer connection as Lamont found room on the far side of the penalty box and launched a high-velocity shot toward the goal.
Gonzalo Sapena, however, was right on the spot to make the save and dove back in front of the ball before a Shawnee State player could get to the ball, as the Tigers kept their 2-1 edge intact.
From there on in, the Campbellsville defense would control matters.
With the Bears playing up in an effort to tie the score, the Tigers got the ball out ahead of the Shawnee State defense to Petit, who beat a hard-charging Pfeiffer to the point of attack and kicked a slow-rolling shot that found its target in the 88th minute as Campbellsville used Petit's ninth goal of the season to take the 3-1 victory.
Offensively, the Bears were led by Sayer, who scored his goal in two shots at the net and four overall. Joe Lamont (JR/Edinburgh, Scotland) added three shots while Caspar Nolte (FR/Germantown, Ohio), Matyas Krivan (FR/Prague, Czech Republic), and Avery Patton (SR/Pickerington, Ohio) added one shot apiece for Shawnee State.
As far as the upcoming slate is concerned, the Bears will have a two-week break before playing rival Rio Grande – who is currently ranked as the top team in the NAIA – on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. before going back into MSC play to take on Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 10, with that contest slated to start at 4 p.m.
The next home game for the Shawnee State men's soccer program will not be until Saturday, October 17, when the Bears host No. 6-ranked Lindsey Wilson on the Shawnee Turf at 3 p.m.
