'Runners drop one, win one
Owen scores twice to conquer Cougars 3-1
by Donald Smith
The Metropolitan
The Metro men's soccer team split their two-game road trip last weekend when they lost to Colorado School of Mines 1-0 on Friday, Sept. 17, and later bounced back to defeat Colorado Christian 3-1 on Sunday, Sept. 19.
The Roadrunners' (4-2, 2-2 RMAC) road trip took a toll on the team because Metro not only lost two of their four conference road games, but also limited key players like David Gordon and Antonio Porras' playing time because of injuries.
(Carol A. Djekic / The Metropolitan)
Sophomore forward Phillip Owen scored two goals as the Roadrunners beat Colorado Christian 3-1 Sept. 19. Owen has recorded a team-high seven goals of the season with a total of 14 points.
Against Colorado School of Mines (3-2-1, 2-2 RMAC), the teams played to a scoreless first half, but what the game lacked in scoring it made up for in action. The Roadrunners and the Orediggers combined for 22 fouls, 19 shots and five yellow cards (Metro - 3; Mines - 2).
The Orediggers finally broke the tie in the second half, when Mines midfielder Daniel Lockley scored the only goal of the game in the 57th minute off a Craig Thompson assist. Metro tried to find an equalizer but to no avail as the Roadrunners fell to the 'Diggers 1-0, extending Metro's losing streak to two games.
"Unfortunately, against Colorado Mines we didn't have Tony (Porras) for the first half, which already made it a little bit easier for them to defend in that they only had to key (in) on Phil Owen," said Metro head coach Ken Parsons.
Owen added that without Porras in the first half lineup, he was stranded up top, which allowed Mines to double team him, making it very difficult to get scoring opportunities.
(Carol A. Djekic / The Metropolitan)
Junior midfielder Aldo Alcaraz-Reza pushes the ball past Colorado Christian's
Chris Royers. The Roadrunners (4-2, 2-2 RMAC) beat the Cougars 3-1 Sunday,
Sept. 19.
On Sunday, Sept. 19, Metro went to Colorado Christian (0-5, 0-4 RMAC) to avoid a three-game losing streak. The Roadrunners made their bid to win in the 13th minute when sophomore forward Phillip Owen took a pass from junior forward Nagui Sabbagh and scored the first goal of the game. Owen struck again in the 38th minute, when he was able to drive senior defender Danny Bills' pass into the back of the net, giving his team a 2-0 lead going into the break.
"Phil has obviously done a great job for a player that hasn't played a lot of forward and has been getting us critical goals," coach Parsons said about the midfielder-turned-forward.
"It's been difficult; I'm used to getting the ball a lot more often than I do now so that adjustment takes patience to wait for the ball to come to me ... instead of being able to go get it," said Owen about his adjustments from midfielder to forward.
Owen has scored seven goals for the Roadrunners this season, one more than teammate sophomore forward Antonio Porras.
In the second half, the Cougars again made it a close game, when forward Mitchell Wingrow scored off teammate Chris Royer's pass in the 64th minute.
Although Metro outshot Colorado Christian 12-4 in the second half, it remained a one-goal lead. Sabbagh, who already had an assist in the game, would be the person to put the game out of reach when he booted home a penalty kick in the 88th minute. Sabbagh's goal ended his team's two-game losing streak as the Roadrunners defeated the Cougars 3-1.
Carol A. Djekic / The Metropolitan
Sophomore forward Phillip Owen scored two goals as the Roadrunners beat Colorado Christian 3-1 Sept. 19. Owen has recorded a team-high seven goals of the season with a total of 14 points.
"We're a much different team, a more difficult team when both of those players are on the field (Porras and Owen), because you can't just key on one," coach Parsons said about the difference between playing Colorado Mines and Christian.
Owen said he plays well with Porras, who didn't play in last Sunday's game against the Cougars:
"I enjoy playing with Tony," Owen said. "I think we have a good understanding of how we work and hopefully he gets back from injury pretty soon, man, so we can score some more goals."
Together, Porras (six goals) and Owen (seven goals) have combined totals that account for more than half of Metro's goals (13) and almost half (28) of the 'Runners' total of 58 points, making the duo very important to the team's success.
Metro returns to play CU-Colorado Springs at 3:30 p.m. on Friday Sept. 24 at Auraria Field. |
