By Jeff Uveino
Contributing Writer
It’s crunch time in A10 men’s soccer.
With conference play starting next week, St. Bonaventure will gear up for a tough stretch of competition. The Bonnies currently sit at 3-4-2, but have struggled lately, dropping two of their last three games. A 3-1 loss to Hartwick University, followed by a draw with Niagara University and then another 3-1 loss to Marist College has Bonnies head coach Kwame Oduro focused on improving his team’s defensive game.
“We’ve got to go back to defending,” Oduro said. “The last three games we’ve given up seven goals, which just isn’t enough to do well in the conference. If we defend well, we’ll create chances.”
These adjustments are going to have to be made quickly, as the schedule gets significantly harder with conference play beginning. St. Bonaventure was given incredibly tough conference opponents this year from the random draw method.
“Seven out of the eight teams we play made the playoffs last year”, Oduro said. “And the team that didn’t make the playoffs is George Mason, who is having a heck of a year so far.”
With only eight teams making the A10 tournament each year, having to play seven of those teams will put consistent pressure on the Bonnies down the stretch. Bonaventure will play all four teams that advanced to the semi-finals of the A10 tournament last year, including an October 11 date at home with defending champion Fordham University.
Despite their defensive struggles, the Bonnies haven’t had much trouble scoring, as they have only been shut out once this season. That came via a 2-0 home defeat to rival Canisius College. Despite offensive contributions from several different players, the top scorer for St. Bonaventure this year has been senior Paul Afful.
The midfielder has racked up 3 goals and 2 assists this season, and his presence can always be felt on the field. Coach Oduro had high praise for Afful, among other seniors.
“When you become a senior, something just clicks within you and makes you want to push yourself and your teammates”, Oduro said.
He mentioned that, regardless of wins, his team exhibits strong leadership in daily practices and in games.
“Our whole team comes out and works hard,” he said. “The captains, Kieran Toland, same thing. As far as work ethic, our team does a great job of that.”
Toland has been another reason why Bonaventure has enjoyed some success this season.
Toland has two goals of his own this season, to go along with two assists. The senior midfielder from Scotland has also been a dynamic part of the team this year to go along with Afful.
One thing that will help the Bonnies going forward in conference play is their experience in close games. They have had five games this year go into at least one overtime period, including their first four contests of the season.
“It does give an advantage because once you get to overtime, it’s golden goal,” Oduro said. “When you get there, there’s the belief that ‘Hey, we’ve been here before.’ We take that belief when we go into overtime. The other lesson is you’ve got to challenge your team to rise to the occasion when it matters the most. In overtime, you can’t make mistakes. You have to be mentally tough and mentally strong. All of those things we learned in the five overtime games I think we can apply to the conference games when it actually really matters.”
With the competitive nature of the A10, an overtime goal could be the difference between earning a postseason bid or not.
The Bonnies will travel to Loretto, Pennsylvania this weekend to play St. Francis University, then make a trip to Rhode Island on Oct. 4 to open up A10 competition. They will return home Oct. 7 for a 3 p.m. game with Davidson College.
uveinojj17@bonaventure.edu
