Just two days removed from the program’s early-season signature win, STLCC men’s soccer took a step back on Friday during a 4-3, double-overtime loss to Southwestern Illinois College. The loss featured a pair of squandered leads for the Archers, including a 3-2 lead that vanished after a red card was issued to sweeper Nick Hoeflinger, as the official ruled he tackled his SWIC opponent from behind within the 18-yard box.
SWIC tied the game on the subsequent penalty kick, and then supplied the game-winner with just 2:12 remaining in the second overtime period.
“It definitely changes what you can do tactically when you have to play a man down,” Mosby said. There were a lot of things offensively that we just couldn’t continue to do down a player.”
In what is becoming a familiar trend, the Archers received another stellar offensive performance from freshman Dillon Smith. The midfielder notched his third and fourth goals on Saturday, in just three games. Each of Smith’s four goals have either tied the game or given the Archers the lead. Freshman Cooper Carney also added his first collegiate goal in the loss.
Mosby opined that the team’s 3-1 win over Jefferson earlier in the week likely made things more challenging for his team moving forward, and that a loss is not the worst thing for his team to face this early in the season.
“We needed this at this juncture right now,” Mosby said. We can learn a lot from a loss like this. We knew coming into this that after beating a team like Jefferson College, that the target is on our back. Now we get to see how well we can bounce back tomorrow.
The Archers are back in action Sunday, as they host Central Methodist College’s junior varsity at 2 pm.