By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Entering its Saturday night affair, the St. Bonaventure men’s soccer team had scored just three goals in Atlantic 10 play — two in a win over George Washington and one in a loss to Duquesne.
But as #24 nationally ranked George Mason visited the Marra Athletic Complex, the Bonnies made sure to bring their scoring boots as they attempted to chase down the Patriots after suffering early setbacks. Ultimately, their efforts fell short as the visitors were just about able to hold on in a high-scoring 6-5 affair.
“I’m really at a loss for words,” Bona coach Mick Giordano said. “I can’t say enough about what we did. We dug ourselves a massive hole. But to be able to do that and keep going and keep fighting back, and to almost get the sixth (goal), and to be able to come back and just perform that way in these conditions, under that pressure, it really says a lot about this group. It says a lot about their character. I don’t know if I’ve been more proud, which is a weird thing to say off of a disappointing loss, but to score five goals on a top-25 team, and to do it that way, I really can’t stress the point enough of how proud I am with them.”
It was an all-out offensive blitz from George Mason from the jump, scoring twice in the game’s first nine minutes and adding a third in the 25th minute. The Patriots moved the ball with purpose and denied the Bonnies from holding any substantial possession of their own as its defense was inundated with repetitive attacks. As a result of the constant pressure, the Bona defensive line was left shell shocked, which led to problems in moving the ball up the field.
“They certainly brought a different level of intensity that we weren’t prepared for,” Giordano said. “We got caught and we were on our heels for everything. We were on the back foot, and that’s not what we’re about. … We had to adjust a couple things, and once we did, unfortunately, we were in that hole already. … Our guys, maybe, were a little nervous, maybe we were caught off guard and it took us a little bit (to get back into the game), but we made some changes and we were able to get ourselves back into it.”
With each offensive push, the Patriots committed more bodies forward as they looked to run up the score. But with more bodies forward, it left their defensive line thin, an opportunity Bona took advantage of, alleviating pressure with a number of well-timed through balls that led to its first chances of the game.
Now, with a foothold, it was the Bonnies’ turn to get on the scoreboard. Goals from Etienne Godin and Daniel Helle were scored just 40 seconds apart from one another, giving their side hope for a dramatic turnaround.
“It was certainly a transition-oriented game, to say the least, for both groups,” Giordano said. “We saw the way that they played, and how expansive they were, and how brave they were. Because of that, they left themselves exposed in transition and we were able to get some guys in some half spaces and were able to hit some outlets and just go with athleticism, go with guys that can cover ground. Our guys did a great job with that.”
But for as much work as it had done trying to dig out of the early deficit, Bona wound up receiving a gut punch as George Mason restored a two-goal cushion 20 seconds before the intermission.
In the second half, the scoring frenzy continued.
Callum Shillington struck in the 56th minute on the back of a great sequence of passes between Kyle Macfarlane and Seth Hammond — the latter of the two now in possession of the St. Bonaventure men’s soccer record for most assists in a match, having racked up four on the night.
“They might as well just start building a little plaque in our locker room, because the things he continues to do, it still impresses me to this day,” Giordano said of Hammond. “But again, there should be no surprise behind it because of the work he puts in. … I just can’t say enough about him. He keeps driving us forward and, ultimately, at the end of the year, regardless of what happens, I just hope other other coaches recognize how special he is and how much he drives us forward.”
George Mason responded with goals in the 71st and 81st minutes, but even with just nine minutes left, Bona was still determined to take something from the game. Neshawn Sutherland scored just 55 seconds after the Patriots’ final goal and Hammond got himself on the scoresheet just five minutes later.
The final four minutes of the contest Bona threw everything it had at the George Mason goal, but to their dismay, time was their enemy and the result fell the way of the visitors.
The result may feel like a missed opportunity for a signature result for Giordano and his staff, but as he admitted, there is a mountain of positives he is taking away from the game. The most important being that, so long as there is belief, his team is capable of playing at the highest level.
“We can do it,” Giordano said. “If we clean up our small details and the moments when we were behind it, that’s a different result and we’re celebrating tonight. It’s a really weird thing to score five goals and be disappointed to not have a positive result out of it. So, we have to get back to work. We have to look at the film and we have to analyze it and figure it out as a staff. We’ve got to keep trying to coach the boys and we have to keep believing. We’re not dead in the water yet, (the season) is still in our control. Yeah, we got an uphill battle, but it’s still there for us.”
St. Bonaventure will hit the road to face Dayton for its next game, set for Oct 18 at 7 p.m.
