DULUTH, Minn. – A gloomy, fog-filled evening along the shores of Lake Superior set the backdrop Friday night at Kenny Harkins Field, where the College of St. Scholastica men's soccer team fell 3-1 to Coe College in non-conference action.
The Saints (0-2-0) struck first, needing less than seven minutes to take the early advantage. Kiki Schmitz (Meerbusch, Germany/) opened the scoring at the 6:46 mark, finishing a play set up by Harry Cook (Fareham, England/Henry Cort Community College) and Vasco Carneiro (Lisbon, Portugal/) to give St. Scholastica a 1-0 lead.
Coe (1-1-0) answered just over two minutes later, as Jonah Lasselle found the net at 8:53 to level the match at 1-1. The Saints continued to generate pressure throughout the opening half, earning seven corner kicks before halftime, but the Kohawks moved in front when Christian Rybacki scored in the 39th minute to send Coe into the break with a 2-1 advantage.
The visitors added to their lead almost immediately after halftime. A foul in the opening moments of the second half resulted in a penalty kick, which Brandon Kostelny converted just 34 seconds after the restart to make it 3-1.
St. Scholastica continued to push forward despite the two-goal deficit. The Saints produced nine shots in the second half and forced Coe goalkeeper William Shaw into three saves after the break. Tim Bader (München, Germany/) put two late attempts on frame in the closing minutes, while Michael Nuqui (Wellingborough, England/) also tested Shaw in the 87th minute, but CSS was unable to cut into the deficit.
The Saints finished with a 16-12 advantage in shots and held a commanding 10-3 edge in corner kicks. Schmitz led the Saints with a goal on three shots, while Louis Maerker (Essen, Germany/) recorded a team-high four attempts. Afonso Silva (Lisbon, Portugal/) made four saves in goal for St. Scholastica.
St. Scholastica returns to Kenny Harkins Field on Sunday, hosting Central College at noon.
