Men's Soccer Falls to Fredonia State, 1-0

Steve Jaynes

| 10/22/2005 1:57:56 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men’s soccer team fell to Fredonia State, 1-0 on a cold and rainy afternoon at RIT Field. The loss drops RIT to 7-6-2, while Fredonia State, ranked 4^th in the NSCAA Division III East Region, improves to 14-3-1.

Fredonia took an early 1-0 lead on a scramble in front of the RIT net. The Blue Devils applied pressure off a set piece. Matt Mahaffey (Lakeview, NY) got a head onto the cross and centered in front of RIT’s goal. Chris Rouland (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) (Center Valley, PA) tried to pounce on the loose ball but Jason Januskiewiczy (Warwick, RI) one-timed the loose ball past Rouland for a 1-0 lead.

RIT had a handful of scoring chances in the first half but could not capitalize on the opportunities. The Tigers were out shot by the Blue Devils, 5-4 in the first half.

Chris Rouland (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) made two saves for RIT, while Matt Borchard (Williamsville, NY) made four stops for Fredonia State.

RIT had a good opportunity with about 20 minutes remaining in the second half. The Tigers worked the ball around the perimeter of Fredonia’s penalty area. The ball found its way onto Jorge Ciurlizza (McLean, VA/Gonzaga)’s (McLean, VA) foot, however his shot was off the mark as it sailed over the top of the cross bar.

The Blue Devils placed persistent pressure on RIT’s defense, but the Tigers remained steady and kept Fredonia off the scoreboard. The Blue Devils best chance came with about five minutes to play. Matt Mahaffey found some open ground down the right side. He drove all the way inside RIT’s penalty area, but his cross attempt was cleared out by Chris Somers (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) (Spencerport, NY), quashing the scoring chance.

RIT tried to get the equalizer inside the last 10 minutes but were unable to crack the Blue Devil’s defense as time ran out.

Chris Rouland (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh) made four saves in net for RIT, while Matt Borchard had four saves for Fredonia State.

RIT closes out the regular season next Tuesday when they host Nazareth College in an Empire 8 showdown.