Men's Soccer Posts 2-1 Loss To Utica

UTICA, N.Y. – Freshman midfielder Alex Vargas (Woodbridge, Va.) scored his first collegiate goal, but the Wells College men's soccer team posted a 2-1 loss to the Pioneers of Utica College Tuesday evening at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The non-conference loss drops the Express to 7-5 overall while the Pioneers snap a seven game winless streak with their fifth victory (5-7-1) of the year.

Shane Ruffing's first goal of the season proved to be the game-winning goal at 55:02 of the game. Jonathan Peterson sent a through ball from midfield that caught Ruffing all alone behind the Express defense. Ruffing played a ball that beat Express netminder C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) inside the far post for the score.

Kevin McAllister converted his team-leading eighth goal of the season with only 10 seconds remaining in the first half, placing Utica on the board first. Jeffrey Cupka, on a corner kick, sent a ball into the mix within the goal mouth. A shot by DJ Ilebani was blocked down within the scrum and a crashing McAllister put the rebound past Bayly for the score.

With 4:01 remaining in regulation time, Vargas' first collegiate goal came on a breakaway to halve the deficit. From midfield, Alex van Hoekelen (Drums, Pa.) sent a ball upfield to a streaking Vargas. From near midfield, Vargas carried the ball unopposed up toward Pioneers goaltender Anthony Caruso. In a desperation attempt, Caruso came far out of the goal mouth and tried to cut down the angle. Vargas evaded the lunge of Caruso and tucked the ball into the left side of the net for the goal. van Hoekelen collected his first collegiate point on the play.

Bayly (6-5) draws his fifth loss of the season, allowing only two goals on 13 shots on net. By allowing a goal to McAllister, a scoreless streak of 267:45 by both Bayly and the Express was snapped. Caruso (5-7-1) earned his fifth victory, halting only two of three shots on net that he faced.

Utica outshot Wells by a cumulative 29-to-3 margin. Utica also boasted 11 total corner kicks while the Express only received two, both occurring in the first half of play.

The Express return to action Tuesday, Oct. 16 as they face-off against SUNY Cortland in a 7:00 p.m. tilt under the lights. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).