PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - The Wilmington University men's soccer team was on the wrong end of five first half goals on Tuesday night, as Holy Family gave the Wildcats their first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss, 3-2, at New Tiger Field.
The Wildcats (8-3-5, 6-1-3 CACC) had an 11-game unbeaten streak snapped with the loss, not having lost a match since September 4. With other results today, the loss also drops the Wildcats all the way from first to fifth place in the CACC standings.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats answered a deficit on a pair of occasions in the first half, but the Tigers (9-5-1, 7-1-1 CACC) found quick responses with their second and third goals and held off the Wildcats in the second half.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the eighth minute and the Wildcats didn't respond until the 16th minute. Tyler Guadagno scored his first collegiate career goal off a feed from Tajhay Williams, knotting the game at 1-1.
But the tie score didn't last very long, as the Tigers responded with their second goal of the game just 1:11 later, taking a 2-1 lead 16:50 into the match.
Marcus Hedemann retied the game in the 22nd minute, scoring off a feed from Ryuga Uchigashima on the left side of the box. But the Tigers took the ensuing kickoff and marched down the field, scoring 18 seconds later to move ahead, 3-2, just 21:52 into the match.
The Wildcats registered the final five shots of the first half, but didn't find the back of the net. Tiger goalkeeper Luke Shank made a save on Tajhay Williams in the 44th minute, sending the game into the break.
The Wildcats had a chance to tie the game in the 61st minute, as Max Norden stepped to the spot to take a penalty kick. But Norden sailed it high over the crossbar to keep the Tigers in front.
The Wildcats challenged Luke Shank four more times in the second half, but he made saves against Ryuga Uchigashima in the 63rd minute, Yohan Kim in the 70th minute, Marius Skattum Dahl in the 73rd minute, and Tajhay Williams in the 76th minute.
The Wildcats outshot the Tigers, 20-11, in the match, including 11-4 in the first half. They also put more shots on frame then the Tigers, 8-5. Bas Markus made two saves in the loss.
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Wildcats will take to the road for their next match, as they head to Secaucus, New Jersey, battle Alliance University on Saturday afternoon. The opening whistle is set for 3:00 p.m. at Laurel Hill Park.