COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College men's soccer team stumbled in the fourth-annual Community Cup match against Saint Michael's College, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks suffered their first defeat of the 2021 season and are now 2-1 on the year. The Purple Knights improve to 2-1. Saint Anselm returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 18 against Bentley in the Northeast-10 Conference opener.

Both team traded shots in the first half, which closed the same way it started, 0-0. Luke Magnier earned the first shot on goal for Saint Michael's in the 24th minute. The Hawks registered shots on goal in the closing minutes of the half by senior Jordan Trombly (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore Thomas Prentice (Merrimack, N.H.). The squads each fired four shots each in the opening 45 minutes.

The best chance to score for the Hawks came in the 56th minute as junior Taylor Silverstein (Concord, N.H.) found open space inside the 18-yard box and headed a service toward goal. Purple Knights goalkeeper Ian Boudreau dove to his right to preserve the scoreless contest.

The Purple Knights used the momentum from the save to push across the first and only goal of the match. Kyle Brady sent a long-distance serve into the box for Isaiah McCaskill, who headed the play home into the right side of the net for his first goal of the season.

Silverstein had a chance late to tie the match in the 89th minute but his header shot was saved by Boudreau, who shuffled to his left for the stop.

Junior Brian Underhill (Westford, Mass.) made two saves in the losing effort, falling to 2-1 on the season. Boudreau posted a five-save shutout, improving to 1-0 on the season.

The Hawks out-shot the Purple Knights by a 14-12 margin. Saint Michael's held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.