On Wednesday, the Slippery Rock men’s soccer team went up against Lock Haven University and came away with a close 1-0 victory in their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game of the season.
The first half was a defensive shutout on both sides. The Rock’s goalkeeper, Alvey Kaufman, held it down, having dealt with six shots, zero of which were on goal. Lock Haven’s Ethan Beck had a much greater load of shots with six in the first half, three being on goal.
The White and Green held control for a majority of the first half, keeping possession and limiting any potential opportunities for the Bald Eagles.
Coming out of the half, The Rock struck first. In the first five minutes, Slippery Rock’s Jimmy Irani found the back of the net with a great assist from freshman Zsombor Retfalvi.
After the goal, SRU continued to keep control of the ball, not allowing Lock Haven any opportunities, only giving them two shots on goal in the second half.
Irani continued to apply the most pressure on Lock Haven, ending the game with four shots, three of which were on target, and the only goal of the game.
Retfalvi raked up some points for himself with two shots, placing one on goal, and an assist. Aashi Pandher, Colton Swanson, and Patrick Tierney all had shots and shots on goal as well.
In the closing minutes, Lock Haven had multiple opportunities to tie the game on goal kicks, but were unable to convert and fell just short of Slippery Rock.
The team will continue their PSAC play on the road Saturday when they take on Seton Hill University.
