Tuesday night, Fauver Stadium said goodbye to seniors Johnny Lopez, Bill Miller, Gavin Hickey, Chuck Welliver and Ramzi Sidani, as the Yellowjackets squared off with Clarkson University that ended in a 1-1 tie.
Unfortunately, there was no celebration to serenade the Yellowjackets, as the tie made it impossible for UR to advance to the Div. III national tournament.
The Yellowjackets, now 11-3-2 overall and 4-3 in the University Athletic Association, have struggled recently, going 1-1-2 in their past four games.
Sophomore midfielder Ben Cross put UR up 1-0 at 19:13 in the first half off a pass from junior forward Jacques Appleby.
Clarkson equalized at 43:18, and the two remained deadlocked at 1-1 tie through regulation and two sudden-death overtime periods despite UR’s 25-7 edge in shots.
Wednesday, Oct. 24, UR pulled out a thrilling 2-1 victory against SUNY Brockport in overtime.
Junior forward Nate Giordano scored five minutes into the second sudden death overtime period to give the Yellowjackets the win.
UR had to fight from behind for most of the game, as Brockport scored just 46 seconds into the match to take a 1-0 lead.
It wasn’t until the end of the second half that UR was able to equalize the score, when Appleby put home a penalty kick and his ninth goal of the season.
The Yellowjackets outshot the Golden Eagles 31-11, while sophomore goalkeeper Brain Minehan recorded four saves.
The men rounded out in-conference play Saturday, Oct. 27 with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
After 49 minutes of scoreless play, Brandeis gained a 1-0 lead off a goal from junior forward P. J. Joyce. The Judges nursed that lead until they added two additional goals in the final 11 minutes of play in the first half.
UR stepped up the pressure in the second half, despite playing a man down after junior midfielder Jeff Parrinello received a red card after he recorded two yellow card penalites at 61:25.
However, the men were unable to equalize despite several good scoring opportunities including a penalty kick stopped on a dramatic diving save by Brandeis keeper Ben Doyen-Charon.
Doyen-Charon, a key factor in the Judges’ success, finished the game with 10 saves.
“That save [on the penalty kick] was a huge lift for them, while at the same time deflating us. Their goalkeeper did everything to save the day, making save after save. As much as we control our own fate, you have to tip your hat to him,” Apple said.
Although disappointed with the loss, Apple is focused on the future for the Yellowjackets.
“Right now it’s more about our mental state than the actual soccer,” he said. “We have to compete, be hungrier, more aggressive.
“The words ‘good enough’ no longer apply, we need to go over and beyond ‘good enough.'”
With only one game remaining in the regular season, UR is looking to finish strong when they travel to St. Lawrence Saturday, Nov. 3, for a 2 p.m start.
Apple sees this weekend’s match as a tremendous opportunity for his team. “St. Lawrence is a great team,” Apple said.
“It’s a good situation for us to have the opportunity. Playing a ranked opponent is an opportunity to test yourself and see how good you are ? we have nothing to lose.”
“These chances don’t come along very often, so we have to take advantage of it,” he continued.
Seferiadis can be reached at jseferiadis@campustimes.org.
