CUA gives No. 10 Blue Jays all they can handle in Baltimore

BALTIMORE – The CUA men’s soccer team gave No. 10 Johns Hopkins all it could handle on Sunday evening in a hard-fought match.  In the end the Blue Jays edged the Cardinals 1-0, but not before the nation’s tenth ranked team was severely tested by CUA.

CUA was credited with seven shots in the match, while Johns Hopkins totaled 12.  JHU had six corner kicks on the evening to the Cardinals’ two and CUA goalkeeper Quinn Daly stopped one shot, while Ravi Gill sent back two shots for the Blue Jays.

The Cardinals totaled just two shots in the opening 45 minutes, but the CUA defense was more than up to the task of slowing down a Blue Jays team that had scored seven goals in its previous game.  After a tightly contested half, the teams headed for halftime knotted at zero.

In the second half CUA began to create more opportunities on offense, with the first chance coming on a Mike DiMarco header off a Nick Sylvesyer corner kick.  DiMarco’s shot sailed wide however, and the game remained scoreless. 

Sam Glassman eventually broke the tie when he took Drake Fisher’s pass and found the back of the net at the 69:30 mark to put the home team up 1-0.  CUA never let up however, as Kevin Romano attempted a header with less than six minutes to play that Gill saved and DiMarco and Kevin Duffy both fired shots in the final four minutes.  Gill came up with a save on DiMarco’s shot and CUA eventually ran out of time, but not before it showed it could play with the nation’s best.

CUA returns to the pitch on Wednesday, September 8 when the Cardinals open up their 2010 home schedule vs. the Shenandoah Hornets.  The match is scheduled to begin at 4:00 from CUA Soccer Field.