WEST HAVEN, CONN. - The University of New Haven men's soccer team fell to the Saint Michael's Purple Knights, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon. In the final game of the regular season, the Chargers celebrated a pair of graduate students for senior day. Defender Jonas Schmelcher (Berlin, Germany/SL2B Berlin) and forward Nicholas Julien (Spring Valley, N.Y./Ramapo) came to West Haven prior to the season as transfers while the former of the two found a role on the backline, starting in eight games this season. Prior to Saturday, Julien appeared in two games but the Dominican (N.Y.) transfer made his first start as a member of the New Haven Chargers in the senior day loss.

After 23 minutes of tightly contested play, the Purple Knights struck first as Brock Martindale made contact with the ball on a corner kick from Amos Schramm, ricocheting it towards the bottom right corner of the goal. Goalkeeper Themis Kastoris (Gothenburg, Sweden/Kitas Gymnasiet) reacted swiftly, getting a hand on it, but the ball slipped through into the back of the net to give Saint Michael's the first half lead.

Despite trailing on the scoreboard, the Chargers applied pressure early in the contest, outshooting the visiting Purple Knights 11-4 (3-1 on goal). Saint Michael's, however, recorded more corner kicks (4-3) in the opening half.

Heading into the break, Adam Lindstrom (Orbero, Sweden/Grillska Gymnasiet) and Sean Lane-Turnbull (Wellington, New Zealand/Rongotai College) led New Haven's offense with two shots each, including one on target for both. While seven other Chargers attempted a shot in the half, Chris Chyzowych (Flemington, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) was the only other player to record a shot on goal.

Looking for the equalizing goal out of the break, Guillem Barnils (Barcelona, Spain/Escola Pia Nostrasenyora) found the back of the net in the 56th minute when he poked the ball past Saint Michael's goalkeeper Ian Boudreau, who met him at the top right corner of the box. The tying goal was set up perfectly by Thomas Oros (Valparaiso, Ind./Chestertin), who tallied his first career point on the assist, as the freshman defender threaded the needle from the tip of the center circle to find the open Barnils. 

The goal was Barnils' third score of the season and first since the team's 1-1 draw against Assumption on Sept. 20. His three goals trail only Lindstrom (5) while his seven points rank second most on the team.

Saint Michael's reclaimed the lead in the 71st minute of play when Omar Alers Rivera scored after the center-facing shot bounced off the Chargers defender into the opposite side of the net, away from the diving Kastoris.

The Chargers were outshot by the Purple Knights in the second half, 7-4, while both teams also took a pair of corner kicks. Barnils, who scored the lone goal for New Haven, led the team with three shots, two of which came in the second half. Freshman Lucas Kaehr (Armonk, N.Y./Indiana University High School), the hero in the victory over Le Moyne, also tallied a pair of shots in the closing 45 minutes.

The sophomore goalkeeper, Kastoris, started between the post for New Haven, allowing two goals while registering one saves. His 45 saves on the season are tied for eighth among all goalkeepers in the conference while his .692 save percentage ranks tenth.

Despite making playoffs last season for the first time since 2010, New Haven will not qualify for the 2022 NE10 playoffs after finishing their season with a record of 1-0-4 (1-7-3 in conference play) but with lots of youth returning the Chargers will look to the future.