Seton Hall
Pirates fall to Providence,1-0, in Big East opener
Date: September 20, 2019By: Jorie Mickens
Seton Hall suffered their four straight and their first in-conference loss Friday night losing 1-0 to the Providence Friars. It marked the second straight game the Pirates were held scoreless as last Saturday, the Pirates lost 1-0 to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
The Pirates goalie Andreas Nota started the game off strong with two saves in the first fourteen minutes of the match. One save during a Providence free kick, Nota made a diving effort to stop Providence’s Paulo Lima from scoring in the upper right corner.
Lima got his revenge though, scoring a header off an assist from Providence’s Joao Serrano in the 25th minute, giving Providence a 1-0 lead and scoring the only goal of the match. Around the 30-minute mark, James Boote and Carlton McKenzie came in for Alex Pozesky and JP Marin. C.J. Tibbling also checked in for Argeri Vittorio, marking it the first time Tibbling has seen the field this season.
Tibbling led the Pirates with six goals last season and was looking to provide a much-needed offensive spark for the Pirates. The substitution deemed ineffective though as the Pirates finished the second half with zero shots on goal. Providence came out aggressive in the second half but Seton Hall, most notably Love Fredriksson and Eden O’Leary, defended well against the attack, clearing many crosses that came into the Pirates territory. The pair defended shots from the Friars offense. McKenzie and Tibbling checked out of the game around the 55-minute mark as Andrea Borg and Stephen Elias checked in.
After multiple collisions with Pirates goalie Nota, Providence forward Davis Smith was given a yellow card at the 58-minute mark. That gave the Pirates life as just two minutes later, Borg got the Pirates their first shot on goal. Throughout the rest of the second half, the Pirates had three more shots on goal, all saved by Providence goalie Austin Aviza.
Two more yellow cards were given out during the second half, one for Danny Griffin of the Friars in the 88th minute and one for Marin of the Pirates in the 89th minute. The Pirates played a well-rounded game, with good ball movement and defensive pressure the Pirates looked in control for most of the match. Unfortunately, the Pirates could not find a way to get the ball into the net.
The Pirates finished the match with just five shots opposed to the Friars twelve but limited their penalties finishing the match with seven fouls opposed to the Friars nineteen. The Pirates will look to snap their four-game losing streak on Tuesday, September 24, against the NJIT Highlanders.
Jorie Mickens can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.
