Chris McCree

Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team concluded its 2012 season with a 1-0 loss to American in the Patriot League semifinal game on Nov. 9. Despite playing the top-seeded Eagles even for most of the game, the Orange and Blue could not come back from a 13th minute goal that found the back of the net after deflecting off the crossbar.

“One of the biggest things to take away from this season would definitely be confidence,” Chris Thorsheim ’16 said. “Our record does not truly represent how we dominated most teams this season.”

From the beginning of the game, American came out looking like the stronger team and managed to control the tempo of the game for much of the first half. The Eagles reeled off eight shots in the half to the Bison’s three, forcing goalie Mike Lansing ’16 to make three saves. The Orange and Blue’s best attempt in the half came off of Jesse Klug ’16, but his volley sailed just wide of the goal.

In the second half, the Bison came out charging, outshooting their opponent 7-2. Not having a single shot on target in the first half, the Orange and Blue made the Eagles’ goalie make two saves in the second. Still, the Eagles’ defense stood strong and the Bison couldn’t manage to find the equalizer they desperately needed.

“Our biggest problem against American was our ability to bring numbers forward,” Thorsheim said. “Once the forwards had the ball, the outside midfielders and center midfielders needed to join in the attack. We were simply not dangerous enough because of this.”

With less than 20 seconds remaining in the contest, the Bison had one last chance to force overtime when Josh Plump ’13 drew a free kick just outside the box. With the season in the ballots, CK Kumah ’13 sent a good-looking strike over the American wall, but the ball skimmed just over the bar.

With the loss, the Bison wrapped up their season with a 7-8-5 record overall. Despite the losses, the Orange and Blue played every team close this year and did not fall to any opponent by more than a single goal.

“If winning against the teams that beat us this year is not motivation to succeed, I don’t know what is,” Thorsheim said. “The feeling of tying or losing after dominating a team is terrible. That’s the feeling we need to remember next season and fuel us with the desire to win.”

Looking ahead to next season, the Bison will be without their six seniors: Brendan Burgdorf ’13, Vinny Cinotti ’13, Collin Costello ’13, Jermaine Jarrett ’13, Kumah and Plump. The team has a solid group of underclassmen that received considerable playing time throughout the season. With an offseason to train, the Orange and Blue will return to action next fall, trying to improve on their results from this season.