The men’s soccer team suffered two defeats on the road over the weekend, falling to Indiana University 2-1 Friday and Butler University 3-0 Sunday — dropping its record to 1-4-1.
Bruno battled back against the Hoosiers in the second half but could not notch a tying goal despite a spirited second-half performance. The Bears’ back line faced consistent pressure from the Bulldogs’ potent offense. The losses end Brown’s four-game road trip, on which the winless Bears were outscored by their opponents 8-2.
Brown 1, Indiana 2
The defending national champions (3-3-1) drew first blood 30 minutes into the game. A free kick attempt from outside the box found the back of the net to give the Hoosiers the early 1-0 lead. Bruno edged Indiana in corners in the half but was outshot 7-2.
“I think we definitely challenged them,” said co-captain Josh Weiner ’14. “Their coach said after the game that we’re a tough team to play against, and that’s the kind of game we wanted to give them.”
The Bears came out with purpose in the second half and equalized midway through, thanks to Pepe Salama ’14, who headed home a cross from Jason Pesek ’17. Salama led the team with four shots in the game, and Jack Kuntz ’14 and Nate Pomeroy ’17 each registered a single shot on goal for Bruno.
“We came out the second half and played the best soccer we’ve played all season,” said co-captain Ben Maurey ’15. “We kept on pressing, had more chances and created good opportunities. It was a loss, but it was probably the best game we’ve played all year.”
Despite Bruno’s goal, the Hoosiers sealed their victory a minute later when a centered cross was headed into the net off a set piece.
“Early on in the season we’ve conceded a lot of set piece goals,” Weiner said. “I think going forward, that is going to be a point of emphasis for us, improving that and working on our one versus one defending.”
Brown 0, Butler 3
Bruno fell behind early against Butler (5-1-1), conceding the first goal 19 minutes in. Butler’s offense pressured Bruno’s back four the whole half, ripping five shots and forcing three saves from Weiner.
“It was definitely difficult going into that game playing a fresh team,” Weiner said. “But we were able to keep ourselves in the game, so that was promising throughout the first half.”
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off in the second half and struck again in the 52nd minute. A pass across the 6-yard box was finished to increase their lead to 2-0. The final goal came just 12 minutes later off a header to seal the 3-0 victory for the home team.
“Even when we were down, we had some players step up and play well,” Maurey said. “That was promising stuff, and some good individual play, but as a team we can do better.”
Bruno returns home to Stevenson Field Friday to take on Marist College (1-6) under the lights.
“We take pride in playing at Stevenson,” Maurey said. “We always seem to play some of our best soccer there. … Hopefully, we get a good crowd and can feed off their energy so we can turn things around.”
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