Hobart's Nate Cary scored in the 41
st minute to help the Statesmen to a 1-0 upset win over the No. 5 St. Lawrence men's soccer team on Sandy MacAllaster Field on Saturday afternoon.
It is the first lost for the Saints on the year, as they are now 7-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the Liberty League. It was the first time St. Lawrence had carried an unbeaten record into conference play since 2012, when they also fell 1-0 in the Liberty League opener. Hobart improves to 3-3-2 with a 1-0-0 record in conference.
The Statesmen pressured the Saints early and nearly took the lead in the 16
th minute when Derek Acheampong ran through a 50-50 challenge with goalkeeper
Jackson Schierbeek. The ball found the net, but the official ruled Acheampong had knocked it in via a hand ball, leaving the game scoreless and giving possession back to St. Lawrence.
The Saints, who finished with a 13-8 shot advantage, were held without a shot on goal in the first half while Hobart recorded three, including Cary's goal.
Cary received a pass at the top right corner of the 18-yard box and dribbled through two Saints' defenders before putting a flat-angle shot into the near upper 90 behind first-year goalkeeper
Jackson Schierbeek for the game-winning tally.
Luis Jimenez had one of the Saints better chances as time expired in the first half, hitting a shot from distance that just missed the crossbar.
Early in the second half,
Tapshak Augustine nearly found the equalizer for the Saints on a run to the far post. After leaving the ball to
Noah Bunton in the midfield 40 yards from goal, Augustine cut through the box to await perfectly-placed service from the San Diego, Calif. native. Augustine got a head on Bunton's cross, but rang the crossbar.
Hobart's Alec Kaminer made three saves in the win, while Schierbeek finished with four stops for St. Lawrence.
The Saints will continue their conference schedule at home next weekend against Bard and Vassar. Game times are slated for 4 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.