Blue Devils Go Backwards in Loss to Braves
NORTH ADAMS, Mass -- After picking up its first two wins of the season last week, the Drury boys' soccer team probably wasn't expecting to take such a big step backward in Thursday's home game against Taconic.After playing the Braves even for a majority of the first half, the Blue Devils gave up a pair of goals in a span of 36 seconds. Once the floodgates opened up, Taconic found the net again and again on its way to an 8-0 victory. It was the largest margin of defeat this year for Drury, which fell to 2-8-1 with the loss.
"This started off as a very even game," Blue Devils head coach Greg Caproni said. "For the first 32 minutes, it was back and forth. But when we gave up two goals in 30 seconds, it just deflated our team. It was a rough second half for us."
Juniors Dominic Nda and Patrick Boua, who each had three goals and two assists on the day, both scored in the 33rd minute for the Braves (2-7-3), who finished the game with a 14-7 edge in shots. Nda found the back of the net again off of a pass from classmate Matt Scace four minutes later, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The second half belonged strictly to Taconic, which poured in five goals to win the game going away. Boua scored two more times, while Nda, Mike Connors and Faisal Braimah also found the back of net in the second half.
"It was a well-played possession game for us," Braves head coach Mark Wasnewsky said. "I think we wore Drury down on the defensive end and then the goals started to come."
Sophomore goalie Kevin Squires finished with five saves to earn the shutout for Taconic, which next plays at city rival Pittsfield at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, return to action with a game at Mount Everett at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.