Seton Hall
Delaware outpaces Seton Hall 3-1
Date: September 2, 2018By Evando Thompson
The Seton Hall men’s soccer team suffered their first defeat of the season, as they fell, 3-1, to the Delaware Blue Hens Saturday evening.
The Hall came out of the gates with an attacking mindset. Striker CJ Tibbling forced a save from the Delaware goalkeeper and moments before that, midfielder Tomas Greco took a shot that was just wide of the frame.
The defensive lapses that took place a few minutes after the Pirates’ goal attempts would prove to be the costliest part of the game. The Blue Hens set up to take a corner kick and sent the ball inside the 18. Able to react in time, goalkeeper Andreas Nota punched away a header for a timely save. Delaware continued their attack as they took a shot from five yards, this time out of the reach of Nota.
After giving up another corner minutes later, the Seton Hall defense continued to be pressured as they tried to prevent an unwanted second goal. Delaware intercepted a ball that was in the Seton Hall half that created an easy shot into an open net.
Despite the two-goal defecit that the Pirates now faced, the team continued to show fight as they retaliated shortly after giving up the easy score. On his second shot attempt of the night, Tibbling calmly placed a strike from the middle into to the left side of the goal.
Towards the end of the first half, tempers started to flare on both sides as the intensity of the game rose. The sides totaled 11 fouls and a yellow card to show how chippy things were in the game.
After Seton Hall received a yellow card as a team in the second half, a Delaware player received a red card that drastically changed the complexion of the game. Recognizing the numbers advantage, Seton Hall began to press forward. Undermanned Delaware regained possession and took a shot from a similar distance as their first goal. Nota had outstretched hands and dove in the right vicinity of the ball, but it escaped his fingers and went into the back of the net.
The Hall had two corner kicks within the last ten minutes of the game, but, their attempts seemed to be too little, too late.
Up next for the Seton Hall men’s soccer team, their first official home game, is Hoftsra University as they take on the Pride at Owen T. Carroll Field. The game is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Evando Thompson can be reached at evando.thompson@student.shu.edu
