CUA earns first conference win over Scranton on Senior Day

WASHINGTON – The Cardinals picked up their first Landmark Conference win of the season on Saturday as they downed visiting Scranton 1-0 on Senior Day.  CUA, which runs its unbeaten streak to five matches, got the game-winner from Ian Smith in the 65th minute off a feed from Hal Cogan.

"This was a good win for us today against a team that's been in the conference playoffs for three straight years," Travis Beauchamp, the Cardinals head coach said after the match.  "This was as close to a must-win as there is and we were able to find a way to get it done."

He continued, "The real important thing for us is after we scored, we found a way to hold it down.  This was a nice team win for our guys on Senior Day."

The Cardinals out shot their counterparts 10-5 on the day, and had three corners to Scranton's four.  There were six cards given out during the match, and a combined 30 fouls were called.

Kevin Duffy took CUA's first shot, which was a terrific chance for the Cardinals at the 10:14 mark, but his attempt hit off the post and the score remained 0-0.  Mike Brennan's attempt at the 23:30 mark went high as did his shot at the 31:48 mark.  That was CUA's final attempt of the opening half as the teams headed to halftime knotted at zero.

Nick Sylvester took the first shot by either team in the second half, but it went wide at the 57:50 mark.  Following several minutes of testy action by the teams, the Cardinals broke through with a goal by Smith in the 65th minute.  The play started off a corner and Sylvester found Smith for the 1-0 CUA lead.

CUA's defense was more than up to the challenge for the remainder of the match, holding Scranton to only two more shot attempts.  The Cardinals got off four attempts of their own, including two by Mike Brennan, but were unable to add to their lead.

In the end it didn't matter though, as CUA ran its conference record to 1-1-2 on the season.

"This was a great win for us to get on Senior Day," Beauchamp said.  "These seniors have had their share of ups and downs this season, and that's something we talked about before the match.  They've done a lot for our program though and really left a big impression so it was important to send them out with a win."

Beauchamp then spoke of what CUA needs to continue to improve upon.  "We still need some work in the final third.  We're creating chances, that hasn't been a problem all year for us.  We just need to be able to finish those chances.  Our defense has really been playing well of late, and today that was the case once again.  We did a good job with possession as well.  We just need to keep working on capitalizing on our opportunities."

CUA will return to action with another conference match on Wednesday when the Cardinals play host to Goucher at CUA Soccer Field.  Game time is set for 3:30.