Philadelphia, P.A- After coming off two solid 2-1 wins to start of their 2023 season, the men's soccer team traveled down to Philadelphia to take on the Jefferson Rams. After scoring twice to give the Chargers the lead, Jefferson's comeback would be too much for the Chargers, forcing a 3-2 final score for the blue and gold's first loss of the season.

Starting off strong, New Haven would be the first to strike, their first goal coming in at the 21^st minute of the match. A long ball from Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) on the counterattack after a set-piece would find it's way to the feet of Adam Lindstrom (Orbero, Sweden/Grillska Gymnasiet), who would send it in to goal, finding Tyrone Malango (Mount Vernon, N.Y./) putting the Chargers up 1-0. The Chargers second goal of the night would come from a one on one from Augustus McGiff (Brookhaven, N.Y./Bellport). Taking on the Jefferson right back, McGiff on the left side of the field, would end up scoring from the left side of the box, boosting the Chargers lead to two.

It would not take long for the Rams to answer. Their first goal coming in the 28^th minute of play from Imran Sekagya, to minimize New Haven's lead to one. For the rest of the half, the game would be split evenly, both offenses trying to score another. In the second half alone, the Chargers would find themselves four total shots, two more coming after the New Haven goals. One coming from Augustus McGiff (Brookhaven, N.Y./Bellport) and the other coming from Oskar Kvarnback (Stockholm, Sweden/Bromma Gymnasium).

Jefferson would find themselves a little momentum on the field after the half, challenging the New Haven defense, and keeping the ball on their offensive end for a good part of the second half. It would not be until the 71^st minute that the Jefferson Rams would be able to tie it up. That goal coming from Gabe Paz, who would take advantage of a misread from the New Haven keeper and find himself an open shot on goal. Once the game was tied, tensions were high. Jefferson would take advantage of that, finding the go-ahead in the 76^th minute, from Sean Stackhouse on a long ball from mid field that would find the keeper out of position.

With less than 14 minutes left in the game, the Chargers would be trailing for the first time all game. Looking for the go ahead go, the Chargers would only find one shot, before the final horn went off, favoring the Rams.

Overall, the Chargers found six shots on the evening, three of those landing on goal. Goalkeeper Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) would tally up four saves on the game. Augustus McGiff (Brookhaven, N.Y./Bellport) would lead the Chargers in the shot column finding two shots, with one goal scored.

Though the first loss for the blue and gold thus far this season, the Chargers will look to regroup and grab themselves another win as they open up Northeast-10 Conference play at the end of this week. For the first conference game this season, New Haven will host the Hawks of Saint Anslem on their home turf, on September 16^th, at 7:00 p.m. You can catch all the action for this weekend's game on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW.