By Steve Marcus
Contributing Writer
After losing to Canisius (7-1-2) Friday, 1-0, the men’s soccer team lost a close one to Niagara (6-0-3), 4-3, on Sunday at home.
The Bonnies host Siena (4-4) 4 p.m. Sunday before the start of Atlantic 10 play.
Siena comes into the match with a win against local rival Albany 2-0 last week. The Saints have played two A-10 foes this season, beating UMASS 3-1 two weeks ago and losing to Fordham 2-1 earlier in the season. Controlling the Saint’s senior forward, Sindre Ek, will be key for the Bonnies. The Oslo, Norway native leads the saints with 13 points on six goals and one assist.
With just one game remaining before the A-10 games begin, the Bonnies look to end the non-conference schedule with a win and add some momentum heading into next Friday’s game at Temple.
Friday night, after a scoreless first half, the Golden Griffins broke the stalemate in the 57th minute with a goal from Denver Spearmen. The Bonnies offense was shut down as they only mustered one shot on goal throughout the game.
Sunday, the Bonnies took just 13 minutes to find the back of the net as junior midfielder Brad Vanino put the men on the board first. A minute later, the 1-0 lead disappeared when Niagara’s Callum Wilmot knotted the game at 1.
Junior forward Emmett O’Connor gave the Bonnies another lead, 2-1, in the 18th minute, scoring his first goal of the year.
Before half, Niagara’s Mike Cunningham, younger brother of former SBU women’s star Anna Cunningham, tied the game at 2. The back and forth game stayed tied until the 84th minute when Niagara’s Bryan Da Cruz broke free and put the ball past senior goalie Abel Bautista, giving the Purple Eagles a definitive lead.
One bright spot for the Bonnies this season has been the play of walk-on Abel Bautista.
The Kennewick, Washington native arrived on campus last year but didn’t play.
After joining the team, Bautista did not play in the Bonnies’ first six games, where they allowed 25 goals. Since Bautista began keeping for the Bonnies, he’s only allowed five goals in the past three games.
Bautista transferred to Bonaventure in the fall of 2011 after his girlfriend enrolled here as a freshman. He played for two seasons at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., which has sent alums to play at Boise State, Idaho, California State Sacramento, and many other Division I programs.
Heading into Sunday’s game vs. Siena, Bautista said being more disciplined is key.
“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot with tiny mistakes,” Bautista said. “Staying disciplined and continue to work hard in practice and things will fall into place.”
Despite Bautista’s lack of playing in time the first six games of the season and the presence of two other goalies with more experience at Bonaventure than him, Bautista earned the starting spot.
Bautista said his absence during the first six games of the season was due to the team testing the abilities of the two other goalies on the roster in addition to him.
“I think (it took time) because I was a walk-on and he (Coach Mel Mahler) was trying everyone out,” Bautista said. “We’re all pretty good. We’re all pretty even. We’ve all played three games so far.”
Bautista said he is unsure whether or not he will act as a starter for the team the remainder of the season.
“I don’t know,” Bautista said. “I’m just going to keep working hard. I think I’ve done pretty well, for the most part. I had a couple mistakes in the last few games that led to some goals, but so far I’ve been pretty decent. I just need to keep working hard in practice to prove myself and win the job again for Sunday.”
Junior defender Bradley Beaumont said playing in front of Abel has given the defense more confidence.
“I have a lot of confidence playing in front of him because I know he will have my back if I make a mistake,” Beaumont said. “He’s shown a lot of confidence in practice and these past few games.”
Beaumont said playing with a new goalie isn’t much different.
“They all have different strengths and weaknesses,” Beaumont said. “It’s a change of pace in a good direction. I just hope we can play well in front of him.”
