Men's soccer one goal short

Kyle Keck | Echo

The Taylor men's soccer team fell to the Madonna Crusaders Wednesday night by a 1-0 deficit.

Heading into the match, Taylor had a 4-2 record while being undefeated on its home turf. But a lone Madonna goal in the 24th minute gave the Trojans its first home loss of the season.

With only one goal scored over the course of the match, it was evident that neither team would relent. The Trojans never lost their fight in the grudge match, but a few mistakes kept them from coming out on top. Senior Danny Cawley is well aware of what went wrong.

"It was a tough game, and we knew it was going to be since Madonna is a good, well-organized team," Cawley said. "We didn't quite execute when it came down to it. We were late to first and second balls, and it cost us tonight. But we have a great team spirit, and we will pick ourselves up for the next game."

Taylor struggled to find open shots on goal as Madonna was stalwart defensively. Though the Trojans managed eight shots total, they were unable to complete the extra pass needed to find the back of the net. Senior captain Devin Moore knows the outcome of their offensive opportunities was not enough.

"We did very well to build possession and find attacking opportunities," Moore said. "But the last pass wasn't there for us. There is no 'good enough' in college soccer."

With Madonna's goal put aside, the Trojans' rugged defense kept Taylor in a position to stay in the game. Defensively, Taylor allowed only six shots in the match. Although the Trojans played well as a whole, junior Josh Beachler noticed what was missing.

"The team as a whole had a slow start," Beachler said. "The energy level wasn't high enough, and we weren't keeping the ball like we normally do, so it was a rough start all in all. It led to them getting scoring chances and eventually capitalizing on one of them, which unfortunately was the difference in the game."

While the Trojans came out slow, their energy and fight picked up in the second half. The defensive battle for the ball escalated as play became rougher. Tensions flared as yellow cards grew contagious for the Madonna Crusaders. Though rough play loomed, Taylor kept calm and competed.

"It did get a bit chippy at points in the game but that happens often," Moore said. "We can't let that affect how we play. When we play at the level we are capable of, it will take much more than a chippy game to beat us."

Photograph by Josh Adams