NEWARK, Del. - - In a matchup of like teams with like records, the Wilmington University men's soccer team couldn't solve the back line of the Dominican defense, falling 1-0 after an early goal in a pivotal Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match at the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the match a win behind Wilmington (10-4-1, 6-3-1 CACC) in the CACC standings, the Chargers (8-5-2, 6-2-1 CACC) were able to walk away with three points while also jumping the Wildcats in the standings, as each have 19 points. Dominican has played nine conference games with Wilmington now having played 10. Both teams are tied for third overall.
It was an early strike by the visitors that put the Wildcats behind, as the Chargers put a tally on the boar in the 13th minute, and then sunk in their heels defensively the rest of the way.
The Wilmington defense lost its mark for only a moment in the early going and the Chargers took advantage. Sony Narro played a ball to the middle of the field to Jorge Zubillaga who took a strike from atop the 18-yard box. His shot beat Wildcat goalkeeper Frank Hall high and snuck under the crossbar at the 12:10 mark of the first half.
Dominican held a 4-2 advantage in shots through the first half with the Wildcats earning three corner kicks to the Chargers' two.
The Charger defense played tall and tough throughout the second half, not allowing the Wildcats to have a true threat throughout the match. Wilmington was able to outshoot the Chargers, 7-3, in the second half, but few of which found Dominican goalkeeper Andres Ruiz to make him work.
Elton Joe led the team with two shots and one shot on goal in the match while Kris Michael, Tommy Quaranta, Otis Williams, Femi Akintunde, Sam Fahnboto, Bruno Montini, and Matko Novak all added one shot each. Only Fahnboto and Novak's were on frame, in addition to one of Joe's.
Ruiz recorded three saves for the shutout while Hall tallied three saves in the loss.
Wilmington takes to the road for the rest of the regular season, as the Wildcats head to Nyack and Georgian Court to position themselves for the CACC Tournament. The Wildcats will head to Nyack first, with a CACC contest against the Warriors set for Saturday, October 26. The match is schedule to start at 2:30 p.m.
