SALEM, VA. — In the first game of the
Connor Keenan era for Catholic men's soccer, the Cardinals comeback effort fell short on the road at Roanoke and the Maroons prevailed 3-2 in the season opener.
Roanoke started off the scoring with 7:13 to go in the first half to take a 1-0 advantage. Hugo Berg lofted in a corner kick from the right side into the center of the box that was headed goalward by Will Fatzinger.
Owen Allegro made a diving save but the rebound was headed right back on target by Michael Ramsey which crossed the goal line and just passed the outstretched arm of Allegro to take the lead.
It would not take long for the Maroons to double their lead in the second half. After a Catholic clearance attempt, the ball fell to Slate Danforth just outside the 18-yard box and the sophomore glided a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to give Roanoke a 2-0 advantage.
The Cardinals swung momentum back in their favor 10 minutes later after
Kwaku Marfo-Sarbeng was played in behind the Maroons defense and was brought down by Luca Gustufson just inside the penalty area.
Domenico Caltabiano stepped up to the spot and sent Gustufson the wrong way on his penalty, burying it in the left side of the net to get Catholic on the board with 33 minutes remaining.
After an interception in the Catholic half, Michael Ramsey dribbled around two Cardinal defenders and netted the third goal of the game for Roanoke. The Cardinals however would not go down quietly, responding with a goal with 10 minutes left in regulation. A low cross was played in to
Joe DeAngelis right in front of the goal line and off a deflection the shot found the back of the net.
The Cardinals fired off a few more shots in the final minutes, but the comeback attempt fell just short and the Maroons took the season opener, 3-2.
Caltabiano's goal was the 17th of his collegiate career and the third time he has scored from the penalty spot in four attempts. Allegro finished the contest with four saves after a season in which he had eight games with four or more saves.
Catholic will once again play on the road this Sunday when they take on the third-ranked team in the country, Washington and Lee. Kickoff is set for 1 pm.
