Oct. 12, 2008
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure men's soccer team failed to find the back of the net for the fourth time this season en route to a 1-0 shutout loss to Temple on Sunday afternoon at McGraw-Jennings Field.
Following the opening weekend of Atlantic 10 action, the Bonnies sit at 2-3-4 overall and 0-1-1 in the conference. Temple extended its unbeaten streak to five matches to improve to 6-3-2 and 2-0.
"It was a very disappointing weekend," said head coach Mel Mahler. "We hoped to finish these two contests with more than one point, but Temple was very good this afternoon."
A sluggish first half saw a combined nine total shots with the Bonnies holding a slight 5-4 advantage. Only one of the Brown and White strikes reached the target in the opening interval as goalkeeper Brett Mollon turned away a Fabrizio Savarino shot in the 36th minute.
The Temple attack kept sophomore keeper David Flynn busy throughout the first half. Flynn made three stops to open the game to keep the score deadlocked at the break.
The scoreless draw was snapped just 24 seconds into the second stanza with the game's lone goal from Mike Puppolo at the 45:24 mark. The German international gathered a cross from teammate J.T. Noone inside of the six-yard box and blasted the ball by Flynn to post a 1-0 advantage for the Owls.
"It's tough to live when one mistake costs you the result," said Mahler. "Our inability to finish on scoring opportunities has really hurt us this season."
Temple dominated possession throughout the final 45 minutes of play, including a 10-3 edge in second half shots. Flynn was forced to make three more stops after halftime, while another shot was stopped by the post.
The Bonnies didn't register a shot in the second half until the 78th minute when sophomore Dan Mitchell sailed one wide of the net. The home side's best chance to equalize came in the final minute of play, but Savarino's header at the 89:48 mark cleared the crossbar.
Savarino paced the Bona offense with a trio of shots, while fellow classmate David DiNardo tallied a pair.
"Our backs are against the wall, but we still have seven conference games remaining," said Mahler. "We need to get back to training and continue to improve for the remainder of the year. I have faith in this team and they have played some good soccer this season."
St. Bonaventure returns to the pitch on Friday, October 17 when 2007 College Cup finalist Massachusetts visits McGraw-Jennings Field. Kick-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
