Soccer Suffers Hard Loss with 3 Seniors Out

The Men's soccer team swallowed a bitter pill last Wednesday, suffering a 1-0 loss to conference powerhouse Old Dominion at Panthersville. To further compound the result on the field, three Panthers were unable to play due to injuries. This is the Panther's third consecutive loss, all three of which have been close decisions.

On October 8, the Panthers played UNC Wilmington after tying conference leader Northeastern 2-2 at home on the 4th. Goals were scored by Ayokunle Lumpkin and Jacob Hamilton, whose goal in the 41st minute was his first career goal.

After UNC Wilmington tied the score, Ayokunle Lumpkin in the 64th minute brought the Panthers back in front with his sixth goal of the season. UNC Wilmington answered, however, and at the end of the 86th minute the score was knotted at 2-2.

Unfortunately, UNC Wilmington took the lead with barely two minutes left to play, when they grabbed a loose ball shot from 22 yards out and put it through the net. The Panthers were unable to retaliate.

After this heartbreaker, the Panthers went to Drexel, looking to shake off the uncertainty from the loss to UNC Wilmington. Once again, however, their efforts were stymied by a tough team and a tough loss in overtime. Dathan Knott scored the lone goal for the Panthers, who fought Drexel through regulation and through the majority of overtime. With two seconds left in overtime, Drexel managed to get the ball past rock-solid Felipe Carvalho, extending GSU's losing streak to two.

Seniors Dathan Knott, Spenser Sumpter and Eduardo Liza were unable to take the field against Old Dominion, but several players came off the bench and did a good job of filling in the Seniors' shoes.

Coach Kerem Daser, in a telephone interview with a Signal reporter, said he was especially impressed by the play of Freshman Christopher Peacos.

"He has the talent to become a very good player for us," Coach Kerem said.

Even though the Panthers could not get a shot in the net, the shot totals for the two teams were equal at nine a piece. Joey Devito led the charge for the Panthers, attempting five shots, three on goal. Linus Warendh had a free kick deflect off the right post. Joey Syfert, Ayokunle Lumpkin and Tobias Nagy all took one shot each.

Coach Kerem was very pleased with his team's play, even though they suffered their first shutout loss of the season. The Panthers matched Old Dominion shot for shot, and the backfield combo of Senior goalkeeper Felipe Carvalho and Joe Devito once again played an outstanding game.

Despite dropping three heartbreakers in a row, Coach is impressed with his team's fight. However, he stressed the need for his team to finish strongly in order to avoid more bitter defeats, especially the Drexel game.

"We need to buckle down," Coach said.

The Men's Soccer team will battle James Madison on October 18, and comes back to Panthersville tomorrow to take on VCU. On Saturday, George Mason pays a visit to Panthersville. As always, admission is free to all GSU students who present a current student ID. Coach Kerem and his team hope to see the Panthersville stands packed with loyal fans.