Seton Hall
Pirates fall to Army, 2-1, on rainy Tuesday night
Date: October 29, 2019By: John Makuch
The Seton Hall Pirates entered the game with a record of 5-7-1, with the Army Black Knights coming in at 3-6-4. With two key matchups against Marquette and Villanova after this game, a win here would be a momentum booster for the Pirates entering important Big East play to end the year.
The cold and rainy game began with a hot start from both teams with Army scoring on a quick strike in the second minute from Alex Grave de Peralta, but Seton Hall responded with a goal from Camil Koreiechi to tie it up in the seventh minute. The Pirate defense usually provides a strong support for the goalie Andreas Nota, but Nota took on seven shots from Army in the half with four of those being on goal.
The excitement slowed down unfortunately as neither team was able to add on a second goal in the half. Both the Pirates and the Black Knights had their shots and opportunities in the first half but for Army their shots were saved by Nota who had three saves, and the Pirates had shots that went over the crossbar or just simply missed the net. Despite the chances the second half ended with a score of 1-1. Both teams looked to continue to get chances and take the lead in the next half.
The second half began with some great offensive pressure from Seton Hall as the Pirates kept pressure in the Black Knight defensive zone. Play began to get scrappy with some tie ups and the officiating not calling fouls as often as they could have. This eventually led to a tie up with even the goalie Nota. This was a result of both teams trying to get offensive possession with the score remaining level at 1-1.
Both Seton Hall and Army West Point were able to get chances throughout the half, but with the Black Knights getting numerous opportunities one finally was able to convert, a goal by Tyler Mitchiner gave Army a 2-1 lead with just over 17 minutes remaining in the second half. The Pirates tried to create a comeback after this goal, but Army still kept the pressure on, but a diving save from Nota kept Seton Hall in the game.
The Hall continued to make a push in the final ten minutes with a huge push in the final minute with plenty of chances for the Pirates but to no avail, and the match ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of the Black Knights.
The Black Knights improve their record to 4-6-4, while the Pirates fall to 3-7-4. Seton Hall has two big games coming up starting with Marquette on Saturday, and these two games are crucial if Seton Hall wants to make the Big East Championship as they sit at eighth in the conference.
John Makuch can be reached at john.makuch@student.shu.edu.
