Last Friday, the men’s soccer team (4-2 overall) beat Temple 3-1, marking Lafayette’s fourth consecutive win. This out-of-conference winning streak was the longest the team has had since 2019 but it ended in a close 2-1 loss to St. Francis College Brooklyn on Sept. 13.
Temple opened up the game by scoring the first goal at 33:46, but their lead did not last long. The Leopards answered with one from senior forward Marcos Kitromilides, who took a shot at the top right of the net that soared past Temple’s goalkeeper at 38:13. Kitromilides continued to excel as the game progressed, following his game-tying goal with the go ahead goal for the Leopards off of a penalty kick at 41:53.
Despite their 2-1 lead going into the second half, the Leopards were not quite finished scoring. At 52:20, sophomore forward Lawrence Aydlett maneuvered past Temple defenders and fired a bullet into the right corner to increase the Pards’ lead to 3-1.
“We didn’t start off exactly how we wanted, and came into the game a bit slow, I would say,” Kitromilides said. “The reaction of the team being down one to nothing was the most positive aspect of our game.”
The Leopards certainly had a stellar reaction to their early setback, ultimately resulting in victory. This reaction continued to be evident as the Pards controlled the momentum for the remainder of the match. They put eight out of their 14 shots on goal, whereas Temple only three out of their 10 shots.
“We’ve been doing very well with scoring goals,” Kitromilides said. “We’ve been averaging two goals a game, and it’s really been a matter of executing for us.”
The game was marked by tension on both sides. There were seven total cards, one of which was a red card issued to Temple at 54:20.
Lafayette senior goalkeeper Alex Sutton played the entire 90 minute game in net, finishing with two saves and one goal allowed.
The Leopards then went on to suffer a 2-1 loss on Tuesday against St. Francis College Brooklyn, as they could not replicate the offensive success that was powering them through the winning streak.
St. Francis was the first on the board with a goal at 15:54. Junior forward Hale Lombard responded with a header assisted by senior midfielder Will Echeverria’s throw in at 38:14.
After a defensive battle on the Leopards’ side, they finally had an opportunity to take the lead in the 78th minute when senior forward Jon Ford took a shot that was just wide of the net.
Ultimately, the Terriers put in the game winning goal, ending Lafayette’s win streak at four.
Although the winning streak is over, the Leopards look to regain their momentum tomorrow when they face off against Holy Cross in their first Patriot League matchup of the season.
“We need to stay calm when things go bad, as well as when things go well,” Kitromilides said. “We have to take it day by day, game by game.”
The Leopards aim to keep this mentality going into Saturday’s match, as well as during their preparation for the rest of the season.
“After our game Tuesday, our preparation for our Patriot League matchups began,” Kitromilides said. “Our goal is to win the Patriot League championship.”
Lafayette’s first step toward reaching that goal would be coming out with a win this weekend. Maroon and White face off against the Crusaders at home at 6 p.m on Saturday.
