As the soccer season dwindles to an end, the men’s team continues to show their dominance over the conference. The Hawks hosted two opponents this weekend: the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Friday and St. Francis College on Sunday. With both games being conference games and the playoffs approaching, the team did not hesitate to start off the games in complete control.
The men began Friday’s match up with a fighting fever. Monmouth was able to shoot off 10 shots in the first half alone while Quinnipiac could not even manage a single shot. Monmouth did have eight fouls but they were overshadowed by freshman Kalle Sotka’s goal 35 minutes into the first half. Junior Ryan Clark and senior RJ Allen were awarded with the assist.
Quinnipiac became more intense during the second half after realizing that Monmouth was not going to ease up after scoring one goal. Quinnipiac had a total of seven shots in the second half while Monmouth had nine. The Bobcats were able to take four corner kicks which is double the amount Monmouth conducted. Although Quinnipiac brought a tougher game in the second half, they also became physically tougher. In a span of three minutes, they received three yellow cards; one card penalized the whole team. As a whole, the Bobcats were given four yellow cards while the Hawks restrained their selves and came away with their hands clean. Within the 53rd minute of play, Monmouth was able to increase their goals by one as freshman Andres Penfold found the net off of sophomore Joseph Schmid’s corner kick.
The game’s final score was a 20 win in Monmouth’s favor. MU’s goalie, Alex Blackburn, recorded another shutout along with six saves. With this game as a confidence booster, the team was prepared to host an 832 St. Francis College.
It was noticeable early on how the game would be: a back and forth battle between two evenly matched teams. With the competition being so close to equal, neither team was able to dominate the other on the field. SFC and MU were both becoming more heated as the game went on due to the fact that it was difficult to overcome their opponent. Although the teams were evenly matched, that does not mean each did not have their fair share of chances to score. Monmouth had five shots on goal, 17 shots in general, made two saves, took four corners, and had a mere six fouls. St. Francis made two shots on goal, seven shots in general, made four saves, took three corners, and had a towering 14 fouls.
With two minutes left on the clock, Max Hamilton became a hero in Monmouth’s eyes. Fighting hard throughout the day, he was the one who finally was able to put MU on the scoreboard by heading the ball into the back of the net. Schmid and Anthony Vasquez were given the assist. The final score was 10 Monmouth. The Hawks currently hold an 114 record and will be traveling to face conference rival Robert Morris this upcoming Friday.
