Second Half Surge Not Enough for Crusaders in Narrow Defeat to Schreiner

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's soccer team lost their conference matchup with Schreiner University 3-2 on Sunday.  They fall to 2-7-2 on the year and are 0-3 in conference.

It was tough to separate the two sides in the opening minutes, with both creating chances on goal and both teams defending well.  Schreiner would open the scoring in the 17th minute from a corner kick, but the remainder of the first half would be fought to a stalemate.

The game rapidly slipped away from Dallas at the start of the second half, with Schreiner scoring two goals in a seven minunte span to make it 3-0.  A fire was lit under the Crusaders from then on, and it didn't take long for them to get on the board.  Antonio Gachiniero played a perfect ball into Clayton Porto from a 35 yard free kick, with Porto rising above his defender for an easy header from inside the six yard box to make it 3-1.

Brian Rusch pulled the Crusaders within one with a candidate for goal of the season.  From a corner kick, Sebastian Coleman played it back to Rusch who was waiting outside the box on the far side; Rusch hit it first time with his left foot, dipped it over the keeper and off the bottom of the crossbar in the top right corner to make it 3-2.

Paul Stavrou had two of the best chances of the game in a 30 second span off a pair of quick conterattacks and nearly equalized, but the Mountaineers goalkeeper did well 1-v-1 to keep his side on top.  Ben Utz had the last gasp effort for Dallas from a corner kick in the 88th minute, but his header was cleared off the line by a Schreiner defender to seal the win for the Mountaineers.

Up Next

Conference play continues next weekend, as the Crusaders hit the road for a pair of games.  They will face Centenary for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off on Friday, Oct. 14.