Griffins Drop Its First Game On The Season Against Dominican

RIVER FOREST, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's soccer team played well against one of the top NCAA Division III teams on Sunday in Dominican, however, the Stars pulled away from the Griffins for the 4-1 win.

Fontbonne (1-1), totaled eight shots on the day and were led by Corey Schmidt's two shots and his first goal on the year. In net, Tony Pitaro made four saves.

On the other side of the pitch, the Stars (2-0) ended the afternoon with 16 shots. Standing out was Adam Yaghmour with his game-high two goals on four shots. Jonathan Arzeta and Nestor Ascencio contributed the other goals.

In the first half, the scoring got started early in favor for the Stars. A foul was called inside the box against the Griffins which awarded a penalty kick to Dominican. Ascencio came through with the opportunity, beating Pitaro and giving them the 1-0 lead at the 5:26 mark.

Less than five minutes later, Arzeta blasted his shot from the top of the 18 into the back of the net and that extended the advantage out to 2-0.

The Griffins, however, weren't phased by the deficit. A foul was called on Dominican which gave them a free kick just outside the 18. Schmidt stepped into it and scored his first on the year, cutting the lead down to 2-1.

The two teams had its fair set of chances the final 18 minutes of play but Dominican went into the break on top by one.

In the final frame, Michael Delaney kicked the ball from just ahead of midfield up for Yaghmour. The senior forward got behind the Griffins defense and tipped the ball past Pitaro for his first goal on the year, making it a 3-1 outing.

Fontbonne had a scoring chance two minutes later as they were awarded a corner kick. Alex Phillips placed the ball onto a crossing Greg Ferry's head, but his deflection went just wide of the far post.

Then, in the 62^nd minute, Yaghmour dribbled down the right side of the field, cut inside towards the box and bended his shot attempt just inside the near post, past a diving Pitaro for his second of the game.

The Griffins continued to push in an effort to get back into the game, but the comeback was not to be with the Stars hanging on for the win.

Fontbonne returns to action in front of the home crowd on Thursday when they'll host Illinois College. Kick-off begins at 7 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's soccer team.