Milwaukee, Wis. – As if winning the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) men’s soccer crown isn’t tough enough, the Cardinal Stritch University Wolves just saw their road get a little tougher. On Saturday afternoon, Stritch suffered a setback to their championship hopes as the Wolves dropped a conference match to the Robert Morris University Eagles by a final score of 3-1.
Looking for some early offense, the Wolves were able to generate eight shots during the first period of play, but could never quite get in position for quality shots as only one of the shots landed on net. While Stritch was misfiring, the Eagles were able to take advantage of their four shots on goal, eventually taking a 1-0 lead after the 20-minute mark as RMU’s Lazare Nignan (Oaugadougou, Burkinda Faso) scored the match’s first goal.
Needing the defense to hold up so the offense and find their mark, the exact opposite would happen for the Wolves as the Eagles would score a little over six minutes into the second half off the foot of Eric Herrera (Chicago, Ill.). Herrera would take a pass from Peter Gallagher (Buncrana, Ireland) before putting it in the net, pushing the Wolves into a 2-0 hole.
Things wouldn’t get any better as Herrera would tally another goal against the Wolves seven minutes later, effectively putting Stritch into a 3-0 hole.
Stritch would eventually crack through on the scoreboard as David Perich (Perth, Australia) would score his third goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-1. The Perich goal would end up being too little too late as the game would end at 3-1.
For the Wolves, the loss is the second straight 3-1 loss they’ve suffered as it also drops the overall record to 9-5-1. The loss also places the Wolves at 4-3 in the CCAC, dropping them to third in the conference. The victory improves Robert Morris University to 5-7-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the CCAC.
With Saturday marking the final regular season home match for the Wolves, Stritch will now head to Notre Dame, Ind. to take on Holy Cross University on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m.