September 11, 2014
For any team, a win is a great way to start off the season. The men’s soccer 3-0 victory against the SUNY Oswego Lakers last Wednesday Sept. 3, followed by a 1-1 tie with the Trinity Bantams on Saturday Sept. 6, proved to set just the right tone for the start to the rest of the season.
On Sept. 3, the Continentals dominated the field with three goals made by Alec Talsania ’17 and captains Griffin Abbott ’15 and Dan Kraynak ’15. Abbott scored his sixth collegiate goal in the seveth minute of the game, making a low shot inside the post off an assist from Talsania.
Less than 20 minutes later, Bayard Geeslin ’16 passed to Talsania, who scored the second goal of the game. Kraynack shot past Oswego goalkeeper Todd Lawson ’16 on a penalty kick halfway through the second half, giving Hamilton a three-shot advantage over the Lakers. Goalie Harris Pollack ’17 exhibited excellent skill and consistency, earning his first collegiate shutout.
Pollack said while it was rewarding to earn the shutout, the entire team pulled together for the win. “Each and every player worked hard off the ball to ensure that SUNY Oswego players had very limited shot opportunities…My teammates…were the ones working hard and making my job easy,” he said. Kraynak added, “I thought we managed the pace of the game well, which led to the win.”
Three days later, the Continentals faced their first conference game of the season against Trinity. Neither team managed to get points on the scoreboard until the second half, when Bantam Cody Savonen ’17 scored in the 58th minute, followed by a goal made by Kraynak eight minutes later. He scored off of an attempted shot by Talsania, whose shot bounced off the goal post and landed in front of Kraynak.
Both teams also came close to winning the game, with Hamilton scoring a goal that was nullified by an offsides call from the line judge.
Additionally, Pollack made an extremely timely save with under nine minutes left when Trinity’s Savonen received a breakaway opportunity. Taking a gamble in rushing far out of his net, Harris was able to chip the ball away from Savonen at the top of the box and stifle the golden scoring opportunity.
The two teams continued to play neck-in-neck in overtime, during which Trinity’s keeper Jason Katz ’15 made five saves. John McGuinnis ’16 notably had a breakaway from two Bantam defenders but shot wide.
On the Trinity game, Talsania said, “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the win…because we couldn’t finish some of our attacking chances.” However, he lauded the defense for its strength in both the Oswego and Trinity games. “We have four very experienced players back there to trust…When they don’t give the other team many shots, they give the offense an opportunity to win the games.” Nick Yepes ’15, who attended the Trinity game, said Buck Reynolds ’15 led the defense and “was always where he needed to be.”
Looking ahead, the Continentals are hoping to carry this positive momentum into future games. Pollack said, “We will definitely work on putting away all our chances and improving our play on and off the ball.”
Similarly, Talsania noted, “We have a lot of firepower going forward on the attack… We just have to continue to work on finishing our chances going forward in the season.”
After their heart-stopping finish against Trinity, the men’s team will look to bring home its first conference win of the season on Sept. 13, when they will play the Bates Bobcats in Lewiston, Maine.
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