The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils men’s soccer team suffered a 4-0 loss against the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights at CCSU’s Soccer Field on Sunday, Sept. 28.
This was the team’s first Northeast Conference match, following their loss to UMass Lowell on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Both sides started well on the attacking front, with the biggest chance coming CCSU’s way, with a double save pulled off by FDU’s goalkeeper Matheus Franca.
The Knights looked the more dangerous in transition; however, a recovery by midfielder Joey Tata stopped a clear-cut chance on goal.
Former CCSU player Arnau Rabassa Guillamon looked a threat, drifting inside from the wing.
The first goal came just before the 20th minute, with a neat ball played between the defense by fullback Eric Diabal, who found teammate Jaime Barbero alone in the box to make it 1-0.
With Central looking to respond, the Knights made some changes as they pushed on to secure the second goal.
A high press by FDU put them in a scoring opportunity, but were abruptly stopped by defender Herman Toftevag who was booked.
As the first half came to a close, FDU found themselves in a dangerous position to score. A free kick hit hard and low underneath the wall by Alex Ferenac, doubling the visitors’ lead.
Central looked for a reaction and had its chance to get back into the game.
A careless challenge in the box led to a penalty, with forward Youssef Shafei who stepped up, but found his spot kick routinely saved by the goalkeeper.
A positive start to the second half for the home side saw them create chances through Joey Tata and Anthony Catanzaro.
Forward Santiago Marin Gutierrez hit a hopeful shot from range as he tried to catch the keeper out, but saw his chance go wide of the post.
With the Knights dominating the ball with neat spells of possession, the Blue Devils found it hard to break down their backline.
Central looked to create from set pieces but could not test the goalkeeper.
FDU scored their third and fourth goals of the game, through Nathaniel Anevski and Eric Diabal to close out the game.
After the game, CCSU head coach David Kelly spoke about his team’s efforts.
“We created enough chances to score a couple of goals,” he said. “But we conceded four, so we got to take a look to see if we can find some solutions.”
