Enrique Carrasco. Editor

On Sat. Oct. 1, the La Salle Explorers men’s soccer team faced off against St. Bonnaventures for what would be their third conference game of the season. The Explorers entered the game sitting at a 2-5-2 record (1-1 in conference play), while the Bonnies entered the game sitting at a 3-5-1 record (0-2 in conference play). Both teams sought to improve their standings within the conference, and the Bonnies were looking for their first conference win of the season. 

The game was off to a slow start, with the Explorers and the Bonnies maintaining the ball near the midfield, with neither of them making any actual attempts on goal. It was not until the 18th minute of the contest that the Bonnies were able to filter a perfect pass into the box, where the Bonnie’s forward was able to strike it and find the back of the net, putting the Bonnies up 0-1. Their glory was short-lived, however, when fifth-year forward Omari Cotterell drew a foul right outside of the penalty box. Cotterell was able to get the ball over the wall of St. Bonnie’s defenders and deliver a dagger into the spirit of the Bonnies, finding the top corner with ease. The Explorers continued their aggressive approach throughout the rest of the half, shooting the ball off nine more times, with none of them getting past the goalkeeper. The Explorers went into halftime with the game tied at 1-1. 

The start of the second half was similar to the start of the first half, with neither team doing much besides keeping the ball at the midfield. This pattern continued until the 56th minute of the contest, when fifth-year forward Nigel Buckley was able to get a rocket past the goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner of the net, putting the Explorers up 2-1. The Bonnies were determined not to go down without a fight and kept the pressure on the Explorers for the remainder of the match. The defense, however, showed that they came to play, with them only allowing one shot on the cage in the half, with this only shot being perfectly stopped by Freshman Goalkeeper Filip Sabatti, maintaining the score at 2-1 for the rest of the game, giving the Explorers a 2-1 win, and their third consecutive win over the Bonnies sine 2019 (No sports were played in 2020).

This is truly the only time I can say the Explorers have played at their full potential all season long, and I have no real complaints against them. The team seems to be firing on all cylinders, and the players are looking good. The momentum they have accumulated thus far only seems to grow each passing game, and the Explorers are playing some of the best soccer I have seen in my three years at La Salle. Coach Taylor Thames and co. have been doing an excellent job in preparing the boys for tough matchups like this one, and I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Explorers fare against other teams in the A-10.