The Bison men’s soccer team fell to Army 3-1 on Oct. 20 in West Point, N.Y. The Bison fell behind early and were unable to make a comeback against the strong Army team. The Bison conceded their earliest goal of the season in the 13th minute, and this deficit doubled in the 59th minute. Despite the goal scored by midfielder Matt Thorsheim ’21 to cut the lead in half, Army prevailed and scored again in the 84th minute to regain their two goal lead.

Under constant pressure from the opening kickoff, Goalie Ryan Ott ’19 was called upon early as he cleared away dangerous shots to keep Army off the scoreboard. In the 13th minute, however, Army put in a ball that Ott punched away, but it fell towards an Army player who delivered on it to score the opening goal of the game.

Army’s opening goal was the second goal the Orange and Blue have let in during the opening 20 minutes this season. Ten minutes before the half ended, Army took a shot from six yards out and Ott made a huge save with his left hand to keep it from going in.

Ott’s save created momentum in the rest of the half and almost led to a game-tying goal when defender Bernie Wright ’20 delivered a cross that sailed over the head of midfielder Nick King ’20. Army outshot the Bison 5-1 in the opening 45 minutes.

“In the final third, we just need to take more risks,” King said. “Our forwards, wingers, and attacking midfielders are doing a great job creating many chances, it all comes down to taking the right risks at the right time.”

The beginning of the second half proved to be different as the Bison mounted pressure on Army, looking for a game-tying goal. The Orange and Blue continued to create scoring opportunities, but in the 59th minute, the Black Knights got behind the Bison defense and slotted a shot by Ott to double the lead.

The Orange and Blue fought back in the game eight minutes later when Quinn Bredin ’20 crossed a ball to Daniel Hallowell ’20, who headed it to Thorsheim to bury the shot and cut the Bison’s deficit in half.

The Bison pushed on, searching for an equalizing goal when Hallowell found the feet of forward Michael Pavick ’22, but his shot went over the crossbar in the 81st minute.

“In the second half we fought back and had them reeling once we made it 2-1,” Coach Brendan Nash said. “Yet, they were able to counter in the last seven minutes and it took the energy away from us.”

Army won a free kick in the 84th minute from 20 yards out and capitalized on it . Ott failed to save the curling kick, and Army’s two-goal lead proved too much for the Bison to overcome.

The Bison also fell to Lehigh, 1-0, in a home contest on Oct. 24. Next up, the men travel to Boston on Oct. 27, where they will take on Boston University at 2 p.m.