The men’s soccer team headed south to the nation’s capital this weekend searching for its first win of the season and found it against Howard University with a 1-0 victory Thursday. Bruno stumbled Saturday, as a first-half flurry by George Washington University gave the Colonials an early 2-0 lead that proved too much for the Bears to overcome.
Against Howard (0-3), the Bears (1-2) dominated offensively in the early going but could not find the back of the net in the first half. It took the Bears just 46 seconds to generate a shot on goal, but Howard’s goalkeeper Carlos Caro saved the attempt from Malcolm Johnson ’22. Seven minutes in, Rodrigo D’Andrea ’20 sent the ball wide right of the net as Bruno failed to capitalize on another promising possession. The Bison continued to withstand Brown’s barrage, as two shots by Matthew Chow ’20 also missed the mark in the 14th minute. Howard’s first accurate shot was a 41st-minute header from Duncan Dunkwu, but Bears goalkeeper James Swomley ’22 corralled the ball.
Brown’s offensive onslaught continued into the second period. Team captain Daniel Schiller ’20 sent two headers on target out of the break, but both found the hands of Caro. Bruno finally broke through in the 70th minute as Johnson controlled a rebound in the penalty box and buried his shot to give the Bears a lead that they would not relinquish. John Vrablic ’21 was credited with the assist on Johnson’s score. Although Howard’s offense launched five shots inside the final 13 minutes, Brown’s defense held firm, and the Bears earned their first win of the year.
With temperatures in the high 90s and the sun beating down on the turf field in D.C., heat was a major factor in Brown’s match against the Bison. Head Coach Patrick Laughlin attributed some of his team’s difficulties in converting opportunities to the extreme weather. “The combination of the heat and the humidity really zapped us, and maybe we weren’t as clinical in the attacking third as we could have been,” Laughlin said.
Despite Brown only converting once offensively against Howard, Schiller took the Bears’ multitude of strong chances as an encouraging sign in the season’s first win.
“I think it’s a really good sign that we were able to create so many chances,” Schiller said. “As we’re getting more and more experienced, … we’ve already created the chances, (and we just need to) put them away and secure some wins by larger margins.”
After posting a clean sheet against Howard, Bruno’s defense faltered in the first half against George Washington (2-2-1). An illegal tackle inside the box by Brown goalkeeper Max Waldau ’22 led to a Colonial penalty kick, which was calmly sunk by GW’s Max Holdsworth just three minutes after kick-off. Then, in the 24th minute, a miscommunication by the Bears led to a goal that doubled the Colonials’ advantage.
“The two goals that (GW) scored were just due to mental lapses,” defender Jackson Goebel ’20 said.
Similar to the game against Howard, Brown improved throughout the game and was more effective in the second half. The Bears registered eight of their ten shots in the second stanza and held George Washington scoreless after halftime. But Bruno’s poor start proved insurmountable. Despite out-shooting the Colonials in the second half, the Bears had eight fewer shots in the game overall and fell by a 2-0 score.
The Bears return to Stevenson-Pincince Field Wednesday for a matchup with Boston University. The Terriers are still aiming for their first win, as they come in with a 0-5 record, while Brown will look to even their ledger back to the .500 mark.
“These games before the Ivy League … are really about getting better as a team and finding a team identity,” D’Andrea said. “I believe we can treat this game against BU as another opportunity to find out more about ourselves.”
