LOUDONVILLE, NY
The Siena men’s soccer team made a big comeback despite being down 0-2 in Saturday’s non-conference game against Brown University.
The Saints, coming off a draw Tuesday against Vermont—after freshman midfielder, Jacob Arachchige-Jensen, scored in the final seconds of the game to tie it 2-2—were preparing for a win this week against Ivy League school Brown University (2-4-0) at home. This matchup was only the second time that they faced each other since the beginning of both programs. The Saints have been playing well at home this year with a record of 3-1-0. However, things did not start off well for the team. Just a little over twenty-six minutes into the first half, the Bears’ sophomore defensive-midfielder, Taho Kina, crossed the ball to junior forward, Brady Van Epps, who headed it into the goal to give Brown a 1-0 lead. The Bears scored again with about three minutes left in the first half when the senior midfielder, Derek Waleffe, put them up 2-0 over the Saints going into the half.
About two minutes into the second half, the Saints’sophomore mid-fielder, Nick Fernandes, crossed the ball to make it a 2-1 game. The Saints struck again with twenty-three minutes into the second half when the freshman forward, Fredrick Storodegard, crossed it to his brother, Thomas Storodegard, who kicked it in to tie the game 2-2. Less than a minute later, Storodegard crossed the ball to sophomore forward, Bilal Hersi, to give the Saints a 3-2 advantage. They managed to hold off the Bears to secure a 3-2 win in their last non-conference game before the start of conference play.
The Saints finished the day 50 percent from the field, making three out of six shots. The team also had one save in goal, three corner kicks, and ten fouls. The Bears shot 20 percent only making three of 15 shots. The Bears had no saves, eight corner kicks, and nine fouls. The Saints improved their record to 4-3-1 in the year, which is the best start to the season the team has had since 2014. They are currently second in the MAAC just behind Quinnipiac who is 5-2-0.