Recap: Kauschke's Goal Keeps No. 25 Pirates Undefeated

Published: Sunday, September 1, 2024

by Dovid Holtzman

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J – The No. 25 Seton Hall Pirates (3-0-0) took down the Manhattan Jaspers (0-3-0) 1-0 today at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange. The Pirates’ lone goal came on a one-timer from Jared Smith to Til Kauschke at the 67’ mark; Kauschke’s goal carried them the rest of the way in a hard-fought, competitive match. 

The Pirates started strong out of the gate, applying strong defensive pressure and setting up a number of good opportunities on goal early. However, they could not capitalize on the first few, missing key passes on the final leg of the play. The Jaspers were helped out defensively by a strong early performance by goalkeeper Ludvig Malberg. Malberg played high in the box and interfered at critical moments to prevent the Pirates from getting off critical shots. 

Agustin Resch left the match in the 24th minute after a tackle from Manhattan forward Tony Yeboah. The hit drew a yellow card and sent Reusch to the ground for a couple of minutes. The rest of the first half proceeded uneventfully as both teams competed for momentum. At the end of the first half, the Pirates had the only shot on goal, although they trailed Manhattan in overall shots 3-2.

The second half opened with a strong Pirate start as they continued to demonstrate their dominance on the field. Still, they couldn’t quite close on a number of major plays. The Jaspers almost got their first goal in the 53rd minute. A one-off from John Bernardi on a free kick bounced off the crossbar, then went off SHU goalkeeper Matias Molina’s hands before it was driven to the back of the net. The goal was taken off the board by the referees as offsides, and the match remained scoreless.

Malberg's exceptional performance continued to challenge the Pirates as he made a crucial save in the 66th minute, diving to block a close-range shot from Virgil Dall’agnol. However, just a minute later, Jared Smith charged down the left side of the field and passed the ball to Til Kauschke at the center. Kauschke fired a shot past Malberg and into the right side of the net, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Seton Hall secured the victory, with goalkeeper Matias Molina making a crucial save during a last-minute Manhattan attack. The Pirates outshot the Jaspers 8-6 and recorded four of the game's five shots on goal. The match was marked by 27 fouls and six yellow cards.

Seton Hall entered the match ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and has been ranked at least once in four of the last five seasons. Georgetown is the only other Big East team currently ranked, sitting at No. 16. National rankings are updated every Tuesday.

Next, the Pirates will face the Columbia Lions (0-1-0) on Friday, September 6th, at 6:56 p.m. at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, New Jersey. WSOU’s Kyle Ferreira and Darren Worrell will provide live coverage on WSOU.net.

Dovid Holtzman can be reached at dovid.holtzman@student.shu.edu. 

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