BOX SCORE Springfield, M.A- After a great win against crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State, the Chargers looked to move forward with their conference schedule as they headed to Springfield, to take on the American International College Yellowjackets. Up against a powerful Yellowjacket offense, the Chargers fell short 3-1, for only their second loss of the season.
Stepping onto the field, American International would take control of the game right away, applying pressure to New Haven's backfield within a matter of seconds from the first whistle. A strong backfield for the Chargers would allow for numerous clears, the Yellowjackets finding no shots on goal within the first few minutes. However, at the 6th minute of play, American International would open scoring and take the first lead of the game. That goal coming off a backfield transfer, moving their way down the sideline. With a give and go outside of the box, Christian Torres would find some space after weaving through New Haven's backfield, to find a pass to the middle. That pass connecting with Manuel Schwarz, finding an open corner for the finish.
New Haven would find itself trailing early, but their offensive momentum would continue to grow as time went on. After 26 minutes from the first goal the Chargers would find themselves an opportunity to capitalize on, with a free kick from around the 25-yard line. Oskar Kvarnback (Stockholm, Sweden/Bromma Gymnasium) over the ball, would send a ball deep to the far post, to find David Rosen (Vikingstad, Sweden/Degger Gymnasiet) running on from the top of the box. Rosen with his left foot would send the ball from one post to the other, to find the head of Thomas Oros (Valparaiso, Ind./Chestertin), who would send the header into the back of the net, tying up the game.
The Yellowjackets would look to regain their lead, as they draw a foul in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Over the ball was Manuel Schwarz, the first goal scorer for American International. Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) in goal for Chargers ready to make the stop, would be faked to his left, as Schwarz sends the ball to the right to make it a 2-1 game.
Not long after, American International would add to their lead, pushing the game to 3-1. A pass up the middle would find Manuel Schwarz, who would pass cross it in and make a run to the post. Gabriel Nissen would find a cross through the middle, back to Schwarz who would send the ball opposite post, giving him a hat trick before going into halftime.
Coming out of the half time break, the Chargers looked to minimize the Yellowjacket's lead. Finding two shots right out of the gate from Alexander Gunnarsson (Kopavogur, Iceland/Verzlenarskoli Islands), but none of them finding the back of the net. With energy from both teams to find another goal, the game became very back and forth, New Haven and American International both finding numerous offensive opportunities but capitalizing on none.
Despite New Haven's efforts, the time would officially run out, and they would take a 3-1 loss on the day. The blue and gold would total eight shots on the game, lead by Alexander Gunnarsson (Kopavogur, Iceland/Verzlenarskoli Islands) with three. The Chargers would also lead the columns in corners with eight, compared to the Yellowjackets five. Goalkeeper Gianluca Cerosimo (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Arentina Modelo) would tally three saves in the ninety minutes.
With that loss New Haven now drops to 3-1-1 for their overall record and move to 1-1-1 in Northeast-10 Conference play. The team will have the weekend to regroup and game plan for their upcoming game against the Assumption University Greyhounds the following week, as they head back to their home turf, which thus far this season has been the field of their best games. The game versus Assumption is set for Tuesday, September 26th with a start time of 7:00 p.m. under the lights of Kathy Zolad Stadium. You can catch all the action on the Chargers Sports Network on NE10 NOW.
