Metro shuts out rival Regis
by Donald Smith
The Metropolitan
The men's soccer team played two games of their four game road trip this weekend, winning the first one 3-0 against the Regis Rangers and losing to the No. 17 Fort Lewis Skyhawks 4-2.
Head coach Ken Parsons said it was important to get the win in their first conference game, particularly because it was on the road.
The men's soccer team took their undefeated record to Regis Field on Sept. 8 as they faced their conference foe, taking it to them early. Sophomore forward Phillip Owen scored his third goal of the season in the 37th minute when he took a pass from Chad Pearson and put it behind Regis keeper Trevor Steege.
The second half would prove Metro striker Owen had not finished as he took an Andrew Donnelly assist and struck the back of the net in the 61st minute to give the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead.
Metro then put one more in the net when sophomore forward Antonio Porras scored an unassisted goal in the 65th minute. Metro junior goalkeeper David McReavy, who only had to make three saves on ten shots, recorded his second shutout of the season as the 'Runners beat the Rangers 3-0. Coach Parsons said the team did an exceptional job of moving the ball down the field while not letting the Regis crowd affect their play.
The Roadrunners tried to go 2-for-2 on their weekend road trip when they walked onto Dirks Field on Sept. 12 to play the Fort Lewis Skyhawks. Though Metro was looking to keep their conference record perfect, the No. 4 ranked Skyhawks had other ideas.
The two teams played scoreless soccer for the first 30 minutes of play,
but in the 30th minute, Fort Lewis let loose. Forward Cole Sweeter started
off the Skyhawk scoring when he took a John Cunliffe pass and put it home.
Four minutes later, Cunliffe scored a goal himself off a Ryan Kerr assist
as the 'Hawks took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Unlike the previous three opponents, coach Parsons said Fort Lewis' defense
in the first half was just not giving Metro any space behind their own
defense.
When play resumed so did the Fort Lewis scoring. In the 49th minute, Kieran Hall took another Cunliffe pass and netted the third and eventual game-winning goal, giving the 'Hawks a commanding 3-0 lead. Finally, the Fort Lewis scoring stopped in the 58th minute when Cunliffe scored his second goal of the match off of a Ryan Pearson and Ryan Brooks assist.
The 'Runners refusal to quit paid off as Metro scored two quick goals in the last ten minutes of play. Junior forward Nagui Sabbagh converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute to make it 4-1.
Thirty seconds later, Owen tallied another goal to cut the lead in half. Shortly afterward, the final whistle ended the game and Metro's three-game winning streak.
"(In the) second half, I thought that we did a much better job and I would say that we probably had the better of the half. The first half was all Fort Lewis and the second half I would say was pretty much all Metro, and, unfortunately, spotting them a four goal lead was just too difficult to overcome," said coach Parsons about the loss.
The 'Runners now set their sights on returning to their winning ways
on Friday when they face the Colorado School of Mines on the 'Diggers'
home field and then finish up their road trip Sunday, Sept. 19, at Colorado
Christian.
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