Men’s soccer controls pace with shots but can’t stop counterattack, lose 3-0

The sound of the goal post on Sunday night will ring in the ears of the Delaware men’s soccer team. Down 1-0, head coach Ian Hennessy subbed in his injured junior attacker Roberto Giménez in the 57th minute.

What ensued next almost changed the outcome of the game against Hofstra. Giménez flicked a shot in the box that seemed destined for the back of the net, but instead, it merely rang off the crossbar and back into play.

“We are that close and that far,” Hennessy said. “Right now, it’s not so much the effort, it’s not so much the energy, it really just comes down to individual moments of us not taking care of stuff that is really really basic.”

Instead of the score being tied 1-1, the Hens allowed two breakaway goals that featured a desperate Delaware defender scrambling back to no avail. The Hens ended up losing 3-0 to the now 10-4-1 (4-3 in CAA play) Hofstra Pride. Injuries have decimated the Hens this season, according to Hennessy.

He said the three captains, junior defender John Dineen, sophomore defender Tobias Müller and Giménez all are injured, and it brings the total up to seven players not able to play. Giménez is able to play but can only particpate a limited time because of his calf, according to Hennessy. Hennessy said Giménez had surgery, but not even the doctors can figure out what is currently wrong.  

Dineen was the latest to get hurt at the Drexel game Wednesday. Hennessy said he suffered a MCL knee injury but was not specific on how serious it may be. Müller, who had just made a full recovery from a knee injury that kept him out most of last year and this year, recently damaged his hamstring and did not play today. Without three key players, the Hens could not finish the shooting chances.

Hennessy said the frustrating part of Sunday’s game was how Delaware controlled the pace, the ball and the advantages. He said a neutral viewer could look at the stats and say we won the game by three instead of losing by three. Delaware outshot the Pride 16 to six.

“We are right there,” Hennessy said. “We played the No. 11 team, ODU, and we gave them fits, and a game that we again, I thought in the second half especially dominated.”

Hennessy said he thinks if the Hens can win two of their final three games, they will make it into the CAA Tournament. He said the teams ahead of Delaware battling for the sixth seed also have to keep winning. Additionally, the Hens own tiebreakers for the final spot because they tied three of the top teams in the conference.

Delaware tied at Drexel, 1-1, Wednesday, but failed to notch an elusive first win at the Delaware Mini-Stadium. Junior forward/defender Mark Garrity said it was difficult to lose at home because they have been so tough in Newark over the past year but this year they hold a 0-2-2 record.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Garrity said. “I thought we were taking it to them a little bit. The first goal was definitely a blow, that was a tough one.”

The Pride stroked the net in the 11th minute when sophomore goalkeeper Jay Lupas came out to punch a cross away but missed. The two Delaware defenders could not clear the ball, and Hofstra forward Mike Annarumma tapped the ball into the open net.

Hennessy slammed the dugout shelter as Lupas sat on the ground head in hands. However, the Hens did not let the goal affect their play. Delaware spent the rest of the game putting the Pride on their heels but never could finish. Delaware is now 3-9-4 and 1-3-3 in the CAA.

The lack of communication in the backfield could be because the Hens are playing without their starting defense, but Garrity said otherwise.

“Definitely it’s tough without John [Dineen] and Toby [Müller] but definitely no excuses,” Garrity said. “We had a team out there, I thought we played well.”

Delaware will need to mend its injuries quickly because the Hens play tomorrow against George Mason at the Delaware Mini-Stadium at 7 p.m.