Soccer falls at classic
September 4, 2001
After spending the off-season revamping the offense, NIU men’s soccer coach Willy Roy did not get the results he was looking for.
The Huskies finished fourth in the University of Wisconsin’s Rocky Rocco Classic and could only net one goal in tournament play.
On Friday, NIU (0-2-0) was held in a 4-0 loss to Alabama A&M and dropped Sunday’s game to St. Francis College, 3-1. Even though AAMU (1-1-0) arrived 30 minutes late, the Bulldogs wasted no time jumping on the Huskies for three first half goals.
AAMU’s Mujib Kasule earned the Bulldogs a 3-goal lead after scoring his second goal of the game with just 50 seconds left in the half.
The first half was equally difficult for NIU as it was unable to manage a single shot on goal as AAMU held a 12-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs added another goal in the 71 minute, when Abdou Manneh added an unassisted goal to round out the scoring.
The Huskies took a scoreless tie into half against SFC, but defensive miscues lead to a Terrier goal just one minute into the second half.
SFC’s Olukunie Akingbade put a 6-yard shot past junior Rasih Pala to break the scoreless tie.
“I was extremely disappointed with our lack of effort and concentration today,” Roy said. “We are going to have to get things together and better organized.”
The Terriers added two more goals, but the Huskies were able to avoid consecutive shutouts as junior Andrew Conti scored the Huskies’ first goal of the season. Freshman Bruce Conard picked up his first collegiate point with the assist.
Conti earned a spot on the all-tournament team along with fellow Huskie junior Peter Agrimson.
“I had expected us to do better than this to start the season, but we were going into the weekend with a half deck,” Roy said.
Freshmen Bernhard Hagevik and Vrhaham Kadkhodaian were unavailable due to injuries, while senior Rob Berkley was limited to part-time with a fracture in his right foot.