CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's soccer team lost a non-conference match to St. Thomas Aquinas College, 7-3 Tuesday afternoon at Caldwell Field. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 4-4 overall, while the Spartans, ranked fifth in the East Region, remain unbeaten at 5-0-3.
St. Thomas Aquinas got off to a fast start, scoring just 64 seconds into the game on a free kick from Sean Reily. Then in the 10th minute, Jack Legg made it 2-0 with a goal off an assist from Daniel Davren. The Cougars responded in the 13th minute. Junior defender George Mikula (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) took a shot from the left side that was saved, but junior midfielder Chris Skarbelis (N. Andover, MA/Leonardtown) put away the rebound for his second goal of the season. Twenty minutes later, Legg restored the two-goal lead with an unassisted tally in the 33rd minute. Again Caldwell answered quickly, as freshman defender Arben Cosovic (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) headed home a free kick by sophomore midfielder Kristopher Bistre (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) in the 36th minute to make the score 3-2 STAC.
Five minutes before halftime, Remington Lee scored off a corner kick to put the Spartans on top 4-2. In the second half, St. Thomas Aquinas put the game away with three goals in a seven-minute stretch, including two more from Lee, for a 7-2 advantage. Junior forward Facundo Zalazar (Buenos Aires City, Argentina/San Agustin) notched his second goal of the season off an assist from Cosovic in the 83rd minute to close out the scoring.
Junior goalkeeper Brian Agostini (N. Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) played 64 minutes and made three saves for Caldwell, with freshman Alex Cunha (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) making one save in 26 minutes. Andrew Tartara started in goal for the Spartans and recorded one save in 65 minutes. Nicholas Croce played the final 25 minutes and had two saves.
The Cougars are back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 28 with a non-conference game against Queens College at home. The kick-off is set for 4:00 p.m. at Caldwell Field.
CC - 2 1 - 3
STAC - 4 3 - 7
Scoring Summary: 1. STAC - Sean Reily 1 (unassisted), 1:04. 2. STAC - Jack Legg 1 (Daniel Davren), 9:26. 3. CC - Chris Skarbelis 2 (George Mikula), 12:21. 4. STAC - Legg 2 (unassisted), 32:56. 5. CC - Arben Cosovic 1 (Kristopher Bistre), 35:50. 6. STAC - Remington Lee 3 (Reily), 39:37. 7. STAC - Davren 5 (Reily), 54:05. 8. STAC - Lee 4 (unassisted), 55:38. 9. STAC - Lee 5 (Edgar Barragan, Davren), 61:10. 10. CC - Facundo Zalazar 2 (Cosovic), 82:23.
Shots: CC - 9; STAC - 17
Saves: CC - Brian Agostini (63:51) 3, Alex Cunha (26:09) 1; STAC - Andrew Tartara (65:11) 1, Nicholas Croce (24:49) 2
Corners: CC - 3; STAC - 5
Fouls: CC - 18; STAC - 15
Offsides: CC - 1; STAC - 3
Cautions: CC - Cosovic (29:29), Whyte (49:47), Zalazar (59:08); STAC - Legg (45:18), Barragan (79:28)
Ejections: CC - Whyte (49:47 - second yellow); STAC - Miller (29:29)
