NORTHFIELD, Minn. – It was too little, too late for the Carleton College men’s soccer team on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Despite a barrage of shots and several near misses, the Knights were unable to overcome surrendering a trio of first-half goals and absorbed a 3-1 setback against visiting Wartburg College.
Wartburg (5-2-1) scored its first goal in the seventh minute when Zubeen Azari slotted home a pass from Ayo Adebayo. The other two scores came in the 23rd and 38th minutes as Adebayo and Brett LaDoux, respectively, cleaned up loose balls inside the six-yard box.
Carleton was clearly the aggressor in the second half, spending much of the final 45 minutes in the attacking half. The hosts had several promising chances during this time, tallying a 19-5 advantage in shots for the period.
Peter Passalino (Jr./Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) struck the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute. A rocket off the foot of Kevin Doyle (Jr./Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) required a leaping deflection by Wartburg goalkeeper Austin Boyke in the 72nd minute.
Alex Griese (Jr./Melbourne, Fla./Hun School of Princeton) finally got Carleton on the board when he cleaned up a scramble in front of the net in the 81st minute. Boyke needed help from a teammate in the 85th minute to prevent a header by Griese from crossing the goal line. Moments later Boyke managed to stop a penalty kick that would have added more drama to the closing moments.
Carleton will hosts Saint John’s University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. Live video and stats will be available via Knights Online.
-------------------
