BY JONNY WALKER, STAFF WRITER
The St. Bonaventure University men’s soccer team failed to make a late-season push in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings Saturday at the Marra Athletics Complex, losing to La Salle, 1-0.
The Bonnies (3-8-1, 2-3) now rank eleventh in the A-10, although their six points place them just three shy of fourth-ranked Fordham with three games to play. The Explorers (4-8, 1-4) broke their last-place tie with George Mason, earning their first three points of the season.
Both teams, highlighted by acrobatic goalkeeper play, remained scoreless through the game’s first 78 minutes.
In the 25th minute, Explorers graduate Mitch Foster turned away a shot from Bonnies leading goal-scorer Joshua Pulla in a one-on-one situation, managing to corral the hard, low shot. Foster finished the game with three saves.
In the 41st minute, Bonaventure graduate Trevor Wilson made a leaping save, punching the ball over the crossbar. Wilson recorded five saves for the fifth time in six starts this season.
Despite Wilson’s statistical prowess, St. Bonaventure head coach Kwame Oduro has been hesitant in sticking with him, often rotating Wilson and fellow goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu in and out of the starting lineup.
“If he’s [Wilson] playing well, we’ll keep going with him,” said Oduro. “But for now, yes, Trevor is the guy we’ll go with.”
In the 79th minute, Explorers forward Omari Cotterell received a pass on the left side of the 18-yard box from defender Charlie Collins. Cotterell powered the ball past Wilson’s outstretched hands for the game-winning goal.
La Salle bested St. Bonaventure in shots (17-6) and shots on goal (6-3). Oduro would have liked his team to have taken more chances.
“I think we got in good areas of the field where we don’t want to shoot—don’t shoot, don’t score goals,” Oduro said after the game. “You don’t shoot, you don’t get deflections or get corners and keep teams under pressure.”
Ultimately, Oduro said, “We won the ball back in good areas, but we didn’t capitalize or at least test the goalkeeper enough.”
The Bonnies will visit Duquesne Wednesday night in a pivotal A-10 matchup. A win would place St. Bonaventure firmly in the playoff picture.
Looking forward to that game, Oduro emphasized “Just getting back to the basics and not overcomplicating the game” to his players.
“You miss all the shots you don’t take,” said Oduro. “If you’re not shooting the ball, you can’t score. If you don’t have enough attempts, then you don’t have enough opportunities for you to score goals.”
Update: The Bonnies lost Wednesday’s game against Duquesne at Arthur J. Rooney Field, 2-1. Midfielder Isaac Boamah scored St. Bonaventure’s lone goal. With two games left, the Bonnies, two points shy of playoff position, remain 11th in the A-10.
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
