Sports

Men's soccer splits weekend

By Keith Franklin
cfrankl7@mscd.edu

The Metro Men's soccer team had a split over the weekend, winning one game and losing the next.

The win was a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game on Friday, Sept. 16 against the Colorado School of Mines. The cross-town rivals came to Auraria Field for what they thought would be a victory. After all, the Orediggers hadn't lost a game on Metro soil in over eight years, according to Mines' head coach, Frank Kohlenstein.

Saturday, Sept. 17 found the team facing much stiffer competition in the No. 10 nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific Falcons. This game was not a conference game, so it held little importance, but that was not evidenced in the level of play from the Metro Roadrunners. They clearly wanted the win.

The game against Mines turned out to be a rout with a score of 5-1. "They played very, very well," Kohlenstein said of the Metro team. "If they play like that they're going to be a tough team to beat."

Metro's Shaun Elbaum scored first with an assist from Aldo Alcaraz-Reza who was injured just a short time later and was carried off the field. He will undergo an MRI on his knee this week. "I am hoping for the best," he said.

Mines only goal came in the first half when they tied the game on a deflection from the goalkeeper. They had taken a free kick, which was saved by Metro 'keeper David McReavey, but it was a hard shot he was not able to hold on to. Mines' Craig Thompson was there for the put-back.

The score was tied with just under five minutes to go in the first half. Metro scored the first of three successive goals in one minute and 24 seconds. It was easily their highest production of the season in such a short time span.

Phillip Owens two goals bookended the production spurt with an assist when he passed the ball to Elbaum for the first goal. Zack Cousins got the second assist just 36 seconds later when he passed the ball to Preston Borrego for a goal. Finally, 48 seconds after the second score of the mˆl‚e, Cousins got another assist when he passed the ball to Owen for his goal.

The final goal of the game came in the second half when Elbaum dribbled around three players toward the goal before dropping the ball back to Antonio Porras for the shot and goal.

The game on Saturday was more of a nail-biter, as was expected. Metro, on its home turf, faced No. 10 Seattle Pacific University.

The Falcons drew first blood on a shot that was deflected by a Metro fullback. The Falcon's Jeff Hallenbeck was in the right place at the right time and booted it in for a goal.

The 'Runners countered quickly with a goal from Elbaum, with an assist by Cousins. Cousins faked a pass reception on the left side of the field by letting the ball roll right on by him. The defender played him as if he were going to turn in with the ball. Cousins, instead, turned out and dribbled down the sideline. He used his great speed to beat a second defender before he passed inside to Elbaum for the goal.

With the scored tied at halftime, Metro found itself right in the thick of things. Facing one of the top ranked teams in the nation, they knew anything could happen.

The 'Runners looked hungry in the first ten minutes of the second half. They broke the ice first with a goal from Garret Sadusky. Mark Cromie took a corner kick on the right side. The ball bounced around the Metro players like a pinball before Sadusky banged it home. Owen got the assist.

David McReavy, Metro's goalkeeper, showed great skill this weekend. He made a number of tremendous saves and really kept his team in the game. He suffered some criticism for a lackluster effort in last week's game against Fort Lewis. He sat back on the line at the wrong time, instead of going to the ball and taking the angle away on shots.

This week McReavy was a different player. He attacked everything. He leapt in the air between opposing players to knock the ball away. He also dove to the side to block hard shots and generally created mayhem for the opposing offense. That style of play proved to be the difference on the defensive end.

Metro held the lead until just under 14 minutes to play. The Falcons scored on a corner kick. There must have been a missed call by the referee and line judge as every Metro player stopped and yelled, "hand ball." Unfortunately, the Falcons didn't join in. Instead, they scored a goal while the defense was standing still.

The Falcons scored again a few minutes later from the left side of the field on a long shot that found a home in the right side of the net.

Suddenly, the 'Runners found themselves playing the desperation game. They had many shot attempts in the final ten minutes and several close calls, but all of them failed to connect. That's how the Falcon's skipped town with their national ranking intact.

The Roadrunners are on the road this weekend. On Friday, Sep. 23, they play the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and then travel to Pueblo on Sunday, Sept. 25 for a game against Colorado State University at Pueblo.

"We're on the road now for the first time this season," said Metro head coach, Ken Parsons. "We don't get an opportunity to hang our heads too long because we have two conference games to play."