By Kenny Barto

The CCSU men’s soccer team (3-7-2, 0-3-2 NEC) has now gone five games and an accumulated 390 minutes without scoring a goal after Sunday afternoon’s 0-0 draw against Bryant (4-6-2, 2-2-2 NEC).

“We’re trying to look for the positives in what we’re doing right now,” said head coach Shaun Green. “We’ve gone two games, with two overtimes in each, that’s 220 minutes without scoring a goal, so that’s a positive.”

The last time CCSU put anything past the opposing goalkeeper was Sept. 25 when Terrell Whitting scored the game winning goal in the second overtime against Fordham.

“We knew coming into the season that offense would be our problem,” said Green. “But I think if we were to add two goal scorers to this team, we could compete with anybody.”

Bryant got off to a fast start, challenging CCSU and drawing a quick free kick just outside of the box. The free kick found a Bryant forward, and was put into the net, but linesman Boris Medvedeu put his flag up which indicated Bryant was off-side and the goal was disallowed.

The Blue Devils only managed two shots on goal, while the Bulldogs challenged goalkeeper Anthony Occhialini three times. Sunday’s match was the second shutout in a row for Occhialini, who has five combined saves in the two matches.

“Anthony has been playing great,” said Green. “With him and the defense on the field these past two games, there have been very few mistakes.”

The Blue Devils almost lost a key part to their defense, after midfielder Robert Cavener broke his nose early in the game when he and a Bryant player went for a header. Cavener was in obvious discomfort, but only missed about five minutes before he returned to the pitch.

“Cav[ener] is a tough kid,” Green said. “He’s got a broken nose, but he played almost the entire game like that, and it showed a lot of character and resiliency to do that.”

CCSU’s offense had plenty of chances in the second half, but they struggled to bury any of them. The defense continued to foil Bryant’s scoring chances, including one that beat Occhialini off of a corner kick late in the second half. Connor Smith was waiting on the corner of the goalpost, however, and headed the ball to safety.

In overtime, both defenses seemed to find their groove, and neither offense was able to find the back of the net.

“It was a frustrating game,” said Green. “Every time we got the ball in, they just defended well and then played long ball down the field. It’s hard to get a pattern when they play like that, but that’s their style of play, and it works for them.”

The draw against the Blue Devils has helped improve the Bull Dog’s unbeaten streak to three.

“Hats off to them,” said Green. “They’ve got a good team and played a tough game.”

The Blue Devils return to action on Thursday Oct. 21 against conference foe Fairleigh Dickinson at Willow Brook Park, starting at 7 P.M.