COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind two goals from junior
Matthew McFadden, the Ursinus men's soccer team earned a 2-1 victory over Stockton University on Tuesday evening.
With the win, Ursinus improved to 3-6-2 overall, while the Ospreys fell to 7-3-3 on the season.
The Bears earned the first scoring opportunity of the contest in the fourth minute, as McFadden's shot attempt was saved by the Ospreys' goalkeeper. In the 10th minute, senior
AJ Torres launched a throw-in into the box. After a deflection found McFadden, he was tripped by a Stockton defender, leading to a penalty kick for the Bears. Moments later, McFadden stepped up and buried the penalty shot to the right post, beating the goalkeeper to give Ursinus an early 1-0 lead.
Stockton responded with three consecutive shots off three corner kick opportunities, but the Bears held firm to maintain their one-goal advantage. In the final minutes of the first half, the Ospreys created another trio of chances, but junior goalkeeper
Josiah Moore and the Bears' defense denied each one to preserve the 1-0 lead at halftime.
Both teams traded scoring opportunities in the second half until Ursinus capitalized on a corner in the 82nd minute to extend the lead to 2-0. First-year
Eliot Bowen delivered a curling cross into the box, finding classmate
Noah Huber. Huber's pass found senior
Marko Balic, whose shot was blocked, but McFadden followed with the rebound to notch the game-winner, marking his first multi-goal performance of the season. Stockton pulled within one in the 88th minute off a set piece, but the Bears held on for the 2-1 victory.
The Ospreys held a 20-7 advantage in total shots, an 8-5 edge in shots on goal, and a 7-1 lead in corner kicks. Moore earned his first win of the season with seven saves, while Stockton's Brady Bartletta took the loss with three saves.
Ursinus returns to action on Friday, October 10th, when they host Swarthmore College at 7 p.m.
