Men's Soccer Falls to Park 3-1

Parkville, Mo.- The University of Saint Mary Men's Soccer team played Park University on the road Wednesday night, losing 3-1. The Spire's overall record is now 1-1-1, heading into a weekend matchup with Kansas Christian College.

The Spires went down early, giving up an early goal within the first five minutes of the game. Saint Mary would get right back on the offensive after a header shot from Alvaro Mercado nearly missed the net and went wide. A fast counterattack right after Mercado's shot led to another Park goal. Things went back and forth, with each team getting shots on goal and creating scoring chances, but the score remained in favor of the Pirates. With fifteen minutes left, the Pirates scored one more time in the first period stretching their lead to 3-0. Then with seconds to go in the half, Anthony Rangel got the Spires on the board, cutting the Park lead to two and making the halftime score 3-1.

Saint Mary started the second period with multiple shots from Gustavo Freitas and Jonathan Wilson. The Spires held Park scoreless in the second half of the contest with strong defense and continuous offensive pressure. With fifteen minutes left, Saint Mary got chance after chance but was unable to score and come within one goal of the Pirates, with the final score being 3-1. Offensively, Freitas and Rangel each had two shots on goal for the Spires.

"Very pround of our effort tonight," said Head Coach Derek Mazeitis. "The game was much closer than the score line would indicate. Definitely our best showing of the year."

Up Next

Saint Mary is set to host Kansas Christian College at Charles J. Berkel Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.