By Pat Tintle
Assistant Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team celebrated senior night last Sunday as they played their last home game of the season, but the Bonnies were unable to bid the future graduates farewell with a win, as the team fell to Saint Joseph’s, 2-1.
The Bonnies struck first with a goal from appropriately-named redshirt freshman Bonaventure Akinlosotu in the 48th minute. However, less than one minute later, the Hawks evened the match as junior forward Mark Colville snuck the ball past senior goalkeeper Bobby Diaz. Five minutes later, with a header from senior defender Jake Nelson, the Hawks scored the winning goal.
Coach Mel Mahler said he was impressed by his team’s bounce back performance after losing to La Salle three days earlier, 5-0.
“I thought we were doing well,” Mahler said. “I was very disappointed with our effort in the first half against La Salle, but I thought we played well enough to win (against Saint Joseph’s). That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
In the second half, the Bonnies had appeared to tie the match with another goal from Akinlosotu, but officials then disallowed the goal due to possession on the Hawks goalkeeper’s behalf.
Video footage, available on gobonnies.com, proved the referees wrong, according to Mahler.
“(The referee) said the keeper had possession of the ball,” Mahler said. “But he didn’t. The video shows it, but that was a judgment call at that point in time. Referees are going to make mistakes. It just compounds it a bit more when you’re struggling.”
Akinlosotu was also frustrated by the official’s decision.
“The goal, in my eyes, was completely clean,” Akinlosotu said. “It was really heartbreaking. It hurt really bad to stay down 2-1 instead of us being at 2-2. We possibly tied the game, but they took it away from us.”
Late in the second half, the two teams took their competitive attitudes too far, at least in the eyes of the officials. Two yellow cards were handed to the Bonnies, while one yellow card and one red card were given to the Hawks.
Despite the tensions present on the pitch during the contest, Akinlosotu stated that there is no long-lasting bitterness between the teams.
“It was just friendly competition,” Akinlosotu said. “It gets heated in the game. A few rough calls influenced it too.”
Mahler recognized that while the Bonnies, now 1-14 (0-7), have been eliminated from the Atlantic 10 playoffs, the Hawks are still fighting for a spot in the tournament, which may have played a role in disagreements on the field.
“It was just two teams playing hard,” Mahler said. “They’re still in it, Saint Joe’s. They needed to win just to stay alive. Give our guys credit, we’re fighting until the last whistle to try to get a tie or go into extra time. Sometimes things can get a little overaggressive.”
The Bonnies will finish off their 2014 season as they travel to Amherst, Mass. this Saturday, Nov. 8 to face A-10 rival UMass at 1 p.m. Mahler stated he expects his team to play as hard as they can, despite the disappointing season.
“Our goal is to win,” Mahler said. “We’re going to try to put the best team we can on the field. We’re not going to tank it or just throw players out there. I told our guys in training ‘if you’re not coming to train hard for the next three days to get ready, then you can stay home.’ I don’t care what the record is, I want guys that will compete this Saturday.”
Akinlosotu is one of those players looking to end the season on a positive note.
“(UMass) is going to come out hard,” Akinlosotu said. “But it’s our last game, so we have to come out harder.”
