By Steve Marcus
Staff Writer
Last Sunday afternoon, the Bonnies (2-8) defeated Siena (4-5) at home, 1-0, thanks to a 79th minute penalty kick goal by junior Brad Vanino.
The men open their Atlantic 10 slate with a weekend in Philadelphia on Friday taking on Temple at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon vs St. Joseph’s at 1 p.m.
Picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll, Temple comes in to the game 4-4-1 on the year with a perfect 3-0 home record. The Owls are led by freshman Jared Martinelli who has a team high 15 points on the season on five goals and five assists.
On Sunday, the Bonnies take on St. Joseph’s, the biggest surprise in the A-10 this season.
After being picked to finish dead last in the preseason poll, the Hawks are 4-5 and winners of three of their last four contests. St. Joe’s has a balanced attack this year with seven players hitting the back of the net so far.
Sunday proved to be a physical match for the Bonnies with 16 fouls in the first half alone.
Adversity came in the 75th minute when referees issued sophomore defender Garrett Pasono a red card for fighting. The Bonnies played a man down for the rest of the half.
The penalty kick was set up by junior forward Emmett O’Conner, who played a great ball down the left sideline before using fancy footwork to beat his defender and push the ball into the box before being taken down by a Siena defender.
Junior Brad Vanino took the PK, sending it towards the top left corner of the net and barely beating the Siena goalie.
The Bonnies concluded their non-conference games with a 2-8 record. Numerous starters from last year’s team are out this season with injuries.
Season-ending injuries to redshirt senior Joshua Gonsalves, juniors Nicholas Perillo, Robert D’Cruz and Eric Smolarek, sophomores Blagoja Dmiitrievski and Mike Lawhead depleted the Bonnies’ once deep bench. The plague of injures has specifically taken a toll on the Bonnies’ defense.
Lawhead, Perillo and Smolarek started 19, 18, and 15 games respectively last season.
Perillo, out since training camp with two herniated disks in his lower back, said his injury has been frustrating to say the least.
“I can’t stand having to be out and not being able to help the team,” Perillo said. “Ever since I’ve been on campus, I’ve played and all of a sudden this injury is limiting my ability. It definitely hurts.”
D’Cruz, out with a broken collarbone he suffered in the game at Buffalo, said its difficult watching all of his teammate’s on the field.
“It’s tough to watch from the sidelines and not be able to help my team out,” D’Cruz said.
D’Cruz said Sunday’s win brought hope for the start of conference play.
“We found a way to win despite being a man down,” D’Cruz said. “That’s something I hope we can continue through A-10’s.”
