HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's soccer team (2-3-2, 0-1 CC) was edged by visiting Dickinson (5-2-0, 1-0 CC) in the Centennial Conference opener for both squads Saturday at Walton Field, falling by a 3-2 final after both sides were scoreless entering halftime.
The first half was characterized by both sides looking to establish offensive rhythm, making connections in the attacking third. As has been custom in many of the games so far this season, the Fords seemed to be building towards a goal in the opening 20 minutes of play, with Paul-Andre Coulibaly firing a shot high in the 16th minute before putting the first attempt of the contest on goal in the 19th.
Andrew Stephens and Andrew Fritz each had decent looks in the 28th and 30th minutes, respectively, and Fritz and Liam O'Malley also put a flurry of shots on target in the final 10 minutes. On the Dickinson side, Austin Holloway had a late look, but the Fords looked to be on the doorstep with a solid presence established heading into intermission.
Dickinson eventually opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with Luke Beiles finding the back of the cage for an early lead. The goal opened up the floodgates as each side then traded salvos over the final 25 minutes of action in a rapid-fire pace. The game-tying goal came in the 76th minute for Haverford. Tomas Ascoli entered a corner kick into the box, where Max Mouer was waiting on the far post to add a crafty header to even things up at 1-1.
In the 83rd, Dickinson had an immediate response, with Tyson Burling burying a well-timed cross from Galil Cohen into the back of the net to restore a Red Devils lead. Ascoli later added a goal of his own in the 87th, slotting a shot into the right corner of the goalframe to once again tie things up at 2-2., but on the very next Dickinson shot, the Red Devils regained the lead with a stunner, as Burling added his second of the contest off an assist from Chaz Smith, giving the visitors a late 3-2 lead.
Haverford looked to find yet another equalizer down the stretch, and earned a corner in the 89th minute, but Dickinson did well to defend the attempt and was able to come into Walton Field and escape with a key CC win.
Haverford held a slight 14-11 edge in shots on the afternoon, putting seven of those attempts on frame. The Fords also held a 4-1 lead in corners in the contest. Coulibaly had four shots while Fritz put two on frame to pace the Fords. Dylan Ioffreda made two saves while Andrew Kempe made five to pick up the win for the visitors.
Men's Soccer is right back on Walton Field for non-conference action on Tuesday, hosting Stockton, a team receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, at 4 p.m.