Photo credit: Greg Fiume
Men’s soccer was blanked by Loyola Chicago 2-0 in their A10 opener at home on Saturday afternoon in pristine conditions. Senior forward Oscar Dueso was the hero on the day for the Ramblers (4-1-1, 1-0 A10) who remained unbeaten against GW after eliminating them from the A10 conference tournament last season.
“I thought we finished the end of the first half strong,” GW head coach Craig Jones said. “But like I told the guys, when you have good spells like that in the game you have to score. You have to get something out of it, and we didn’t.”
There was little separating the squads early on but Loyola Chicago struck first off a corner taken by redshirt sophomore midfielder Quinten Blair in the 14th minute. Graduate student midfielder Marc Torrellas flicked it on at the near post into the path of Dueso, who headed it home.
The Revolutionaries (2-3-2, 0-1 A10) struggled to get anything going offensively as the Ramblers frustrated them and prevented them from creating chances out of possession. GW’s most promising opportunities looked like they’d come off set pieces but they were unable to unlock Loyola Chicago’s back line there either.
As the first half wore on, the Revs grew into the game and saw a decent chance from senior defender Lucas Matuszewski saved off the line before the play was called back for a foul in the 42nd minute. But GW was beginning to find success and had some momentum heading into the break even if they couldn’t convert their chances.
However, credit is due to Loyola Chicago, who showed that they are once again a contender to win the Atlantic 10 after falling in penalties in the conference championship last year. The Ramblers controlled the tempo of the game and never truly looked uncomfortable against a GW team that entered the match unbeaten at home this season. Jones was complimentary of the Ramblers postgame.
“They’re organized, they’re set up, they don’t give much away,” Jones said. “They never overplay. You’ll never see them turn the ball over, and they have the pace to compete. I think the organizational setup is good. They have one or two guys in that group who can win a game for them. They’re a good team. They’re a very well coached, good college team and it’s tough to play against them.”
In the 63rd minute, junior forward John Gates (who wreaked havoc all day) played a deep cross that bounced off the top of the crossbar and fell to Dueso. Just like in the first half, the Spaniard made no mistake and put his open header into the net.
“We’re just not consistent enough defensively on that stuff to stop conceding goals, which is a worry, to be honest.” Jones said. “We’ve given teams a goal every game and that’s really tough to get back from. But we’re doing other good things and if we could stop that I think we’ve got enough in the group where we can be successful.”
Despite conceding twice, I was impressed by GW freshman goalkeeper Tom Macauley, who made seven saves and had multiple remarkable stops in the second half. The Filey, England native has adjusted well and told me that he is loving the American lifestyle.
“I’m really, really enjoying it.” Macauley said. “I’m getting accustomed to the new lifestyle. The boys have treated me like one of their own. I’ve settled in straight away.”
After the second goal, Loyola Chicago took the air out of the game, remaining compact and not allowing GW any good chances. The Revs best looks seemed destined to come off set pieces, but even there they struggled to get anything going.
The most exciting part of the match was in the 75th minute when a clearance was fired towards the press box and a hero needed to step up to protect the equipment and people there. Fortunately I was there to punch the ball away and keep everyone safe (no big deal).
GW kept throwing numbers forward, pushing a center back up top whenever possible and moving to a three-back formation. Alas, the shift in tactics did not manifest itself in a goal and the Revs remained winless against the Ramblers in the all-time series (which dates back to last year when the Ramblers joined the conference).
The Revolutionaries didn’t have many answers going forward and were not stout enough defensively, as has been the case the past few games. After starting the year unbeaten in four, GW has lost their last three matches by a combined score of 11-1.
They will look to get back to winning ways against a Howard team they beat 5-0 last season and has only scored once this year. That game kicks off at 3 PM on Tuesday on the Vern. It can be streamed on ESPN+.
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