Three different Seahawks found the back of the net, but St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s men’s soccer team couldn’t hold on, falling 4-3 to Bridgewater (Va.) College on Saturday, Sept. 19, in non-conference play. The loss was St. Mary’s third straight by a single goal, dropping the Seahawks to 3-5 on the season while Bridgewater improved to 5-2.
Bridgewater jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 7:15, with Anthony Medrano and Luis Ibanez both scoring off assists from Riley Queen. Junior forward Nick Haney — a Chesapeake Beach native and Northern High School product — answered in the 13th minute with an unassisted goal, his fifth of the season. St. Mary’s pulled level just before halftime when junior midfielder Zach Blaum finished a feed from senior forward Franco Reyes in the 40th minute, sending the teams into the break tied 2-2.
Bridgewater’s Cole Dunbar restored the Eagles’ lead in the 57th minute, but St. Mary’s answered again in the 83rd minute when senior forward Lucas Evans scored off an assist from senior captain Braden Kindred to tie it at 3-3. The tie was short-lived: Noa Denno’s goal in the 88th minute, also assisted by Queen, proved to be the game-winner. Kindred pushed St. Mary’s final chance in stoppage time, but Bridgewater goalkeeper Davis Bashore turned away his shot as time expired.
St. Mary’s outshot Bridgewater 20-9 overall, including a 7-5 edge in shots on goal, and dominated corner kicks 9-0 — but the Eagles made the most of their limited opportunities. Senior goalkeeper Jordon Eckman finished with one save for St. Mary’s, while Bashore recorded four stops for Bridgewater.
St. Mary’s still holds the historical edge in the all-time series against Bridgewater, 8-6-3, though the Eagles have now won three consecutive meetings between the programs.
The loss extends a rough stretch for a Seahawks squad that entered the season as the United East Conference’s preseason favorite and the two-time defending conference champion. St. Mary’s has now dropped three straight one-goal decisions, following a 1-0 loss at Johns Hopkins on Sept. 16 and a 1-0 loss to Lehman College during the Seahawk Classic on Sept. 13.
St. Mary’s returns to action Sept. 26 at Penn State Abington (1-4-2, 0-0-0 UEC) in Abington, Pennsylvania, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
