Defensive Struggles Continue For Prince George’s As Brookdale Tops the Owls, 6-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brookdale Community College (1-0-0, 1-0) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
|
Prince George's Community College (0-3-0, 0-3) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
After falling to CCBC Catonsville 5-1 on Thursday, September 9th on the Cardinals home turf, the Owls returned home on Sunday, September 12th to host Brookdale Community College in the Patriots 2021 season opener. Brookdale, a division III team visiting from region 19, had been receiving votes in the weekly NJCAA DIII Men's Soccer Rankings despite not yet playing a game entering Sunday's contest. The Patriots lived up to their votes, as they quickly scored first before ending the day on top, 6-3.
The Owls 6 goals surrendered topped their previous high of 5 which came just three days prior at CCBC Catonsville and continues to highlight the Owls struggles on defense. Freshman goalkeeper Axel Vargas (Temple Hills, MD) faced 15 shots on goal and was able to produce 9 saves but the Patriots offense proved to be too much for Prince George's to slow down. Sophomore Miguel Rosales Romero (Fairmont Heights, MD) netted the first goal of the day on a penalty shot for the Owls in the 30th minute after being tripped up in the box to cut into Brookdale's lead, 2-1. Six minutes later freshman Victor Oluwafolayemi (Hyattsville, MD) put another one past the Patriots keeper on an unassisted goal to even the score, 2-2. Brookdale was able to regain the lead just moments later to send the Owls into halftime trailing 3-2.
Injuries in the second half further exposed the Owls defense with Brookdale rattling off three unanswered goals in just under 6 minutes of play to take a commanding 6-2 lead but with over 30 minutes of play still remaining. The Owls offensive attacks continued to fall short over the remaining half hour with little pressure being put on the Patriots goalie before a blocked ball coming off a Oluwafolayemi shot unexpectedly snuck over the keeper's head in the 76th minute to cut Brookdale's lead to three, marking his third goal of the season and second on the day.
However, Prince George's was unable to push the ball forward for the closing minutes as they dropped to 0-3 to start the season. The Owls will now look to put one in the win column on Tuesday, September 14th when they travel to Carroll Community College to face the Lynx who are currently 0-5. Kickoff on Tuesday is scheduled for 4 o'clock.
