MANCHESTER, N.H. - Despite dominating in both scoring chances and possession, the Saint Anselm College men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Molloy in their season-opener on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks have lost to the Lions in the first game of the season in each of the last two seasons.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm travels to Florida for a pair of non-conference matches next week at Nova Southeastern on Friday, September 13th and at nationally ranked No. 11 Barry on Sunday, September 15th.
Score: Saint Anselm 0, Molloy 1
Records: Saint Anselm (0-1-0); Molloy (1-1-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Melucci Field)
Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
Attendance: 137
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm came out flying in the early stages of the match and recorded four shot attempts within the opening six minutes. Senior Andrew Kubinski (Norton, Mass.) and fifth-year senior Zach Verow (Bedford, N.H.) fired the first two shots on target for the Hawks, forcing a pair of saves from Lions goalkeeper Callum Hunt.
- The Hawks, who outshot the Lions 9-1 in the first 20 minutes to go along with three corners, continued their offensive pressure with two more shots on frame; one by Verow and another by senior Caden Leader (Durham, N.H.). Both, however, were denied once again by Hunt.
- In the 15th minute, Saint Anselm had the ball around the Molloy penalty area. A one-touch pass was laid off for senior James Poschmann (Bedford, N.H.), whose one-time strike rattled off the right post and was cleared away as the game remained scoreless.
- In the 32nd minute, Steph Maurice recorded the first shot on target for Molloy, but it was easily snagged by Saint Anselm junior goalkeeper David Hood (Manchester, N.H.).
- With just under three minutes to play in the first half, freshman Chance Prouty (Danvers, Mass.) found himself in a dangerous scoring position just outside the 18-yard box for the Hawks, but his one-time, curling strike missed my a narrow margin over the crossbar as the score was deadlocked at the break, 0-0.
- The physicality started to increase in the second half, which saw 16 of the game's 27 total fouls and six of the game's seven yellow and red cards.
- Despite being outplayed in the first half, Molloy took advantage of the game's chippy nature and started to create scoring opportunities of their own. That allowed the Lions to work their way into the Hawks' penalty area, where they drew a foul and were awarded a penalty kick.
- Molloy's Sean Paulo Salgueiro stepped up to the spot and converted by placing his shot into the side netting to make it 1-0, Lions, in the 53rd minute.
- Saint Anselm regained control of the match over the final 30 minutes. The Hawks had a sizeable amount of possession in the attacking third and outshot the Lions, 7-1, during that time frame.
- Hunt made another save on Leader in the 68th minute and about 10 minutes later, senior captain Michael Provenzano (Stratham, N.H.) ripped a shot from straight away that had the Lions' netminder beat, but it grazed the outside of the right post and went out of play.
- In the 78th minute, senior Lucas Bravo Ollé (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain) was sent off with a red card for the Hawks after receiving his second yellow card of the match for a foul that stopped a Lions counter attack.
- Provenzano saw Hunt deny one of his late shot attempts in the 83rd minute. Hood then made his second save of the match in the 85th.
- Saint Anselm had a few deep throw-ins and services into the box in the final five minutes, but were unable to find the back of the net as the 1-0 score went final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held staggering leads in both shot attempts, 19-6, and shots on goal, 7-3. The Hawks also hit the post twice in the game.
- Saint Anselm had four corner kicks, while Molloy had just two in the contest. The Lions also committed 16 fouls, while the Hawks committed 11 in what was a physical battle that saw six yellow cards and one red card shown.
- Paulo Salgueiro scored the lone goal of the match from the penalty spot, which was both his first and the team's first tally of the young season.
- Hunt made seven saves in goal for Molloy, while Hood made a pair of stops in net for Saint Anselm.
- This marked the third all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Molloy. The Lions improve to 2-1 in the series against the Hawks, who have not won since the first ever matchup in 2011.
STAY CONNECTED:
