In the third of five consecutive games at Owen T. Carroll Field, the Seton Hall men’s soccer team hosted in-state rival Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) on Sunday night.
Last time out, the Pirates drew 2-2 with Sacred Heart University, with neither team able to claim “SHU” supremacy. With the draw, the Pirates improved to 1-1-3, having yet to suffer a loss at home this season. Their opponents, the FDU Knights, boast a 3-1-2 record. They opened the season with a five-game unbeaten streak (three wins and one tie) before suffering their first loss of the season to St. John’s on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Last season, the Knights earned the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament after going 5-2-1 in conference play. They made it all the way to the championship game before falling to Long Island University (LIU) in penalty kicks and conceding second place. This season, FDU was not only picked to finish third in the NEC Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll, but also ranked sixth in the Northeast in the United Soccer Coaches’ first regional rankings of the season.
The first half of the game was relatively quiet until the 18th minute, when a pass across the box found sophomore midfielder Til Kauschke in front of an open net. However, Kauschke was not able to capitalize on the chance, and the game remained scoreless.
Another opportunity for the Pirates would come minutes later in a free kick taken by senior midfielder Axel Berglund in the 21st minute. He was able to find senior defender Agustin Resch at the backpost for a header, and the ball then fell to senior midfielder Nico Rubio. Although in front of the goal, Rubio was also not able to capitalize, with the deadlock yet to be broken.
Luckily, for the Pirates, these opportunities were not few and far between. Despite being tied at halftime, SHU outshot their opponents 7-to-1, while having applied more pressure on FDU’s backline than FDU could theirs.
The Pirates finally capitalized in front of the goal early in the second half. In his return from being suspended the game prior, senior defender Konstantin Donalies found graduate defender Sam Bjork with a diagonally-played ball from midfield to the right wing. Bjork collected the ball on the wing and played it across the box to junior forward Joseph Min, who scored his first goal as a Pirate to give SHU a much-deserved 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Minutes later, the Knights had an opportunity to respond with a goal of their own after being fouled just outside the box by SHU’s Resch. FDU senior midfielder Takuto Nishide stepped up to take the free kick: his shot then went up and over the Pirates’ wall, and hit the top of the crossbar before being cleared.
In the ensuing possession at the other end of the field, Resch was once again involved—this time, earning a penalty for the Pirates rather than conceding a free kick. FDU’s junior goalkeeper, Matheus Franca, who was a backup at SHU before transferring to FDU in the offseason, fouled Resch while trying to punch the ball out of the box.
Stepping up for the penalty kick, and hoping to redeem himself for his earlier misses, was Kauschke. He would do exactly that, as he sent Franca the wrong way and scored the penalty to extend SHU’s lead to 2-0 in the 65th minute.
But Kauschke was not done. Just two minutes later, he picked up the ball in FDU’s half and rifled a long-range, left-footed shot just out of Franca’s reach to extend SHU’s lead even further to 3-0 and virtually seal the win.
Although FDU managed to record nine more shots than they did in the first half, SHU still led 13-to-10 in shots and 5-to-2 in shots on goal. With the win, the Pirates improve to 2-1-3 on the season and keep their unbeaten streak at home alive.
After scoring two goals and becoming the team’s leading scorer on the season, Kauschke reflected on his performance after the game. He said that creating chances was the key to winning and expressed gratitude for the coaches trusting him with the penalty kick, despite his earlier misses.
“It means a lot to me [to take penalty kicks],” Kauschke said. “I am comfortable with having that responsibility, so I’m thankful that the team trusts and believes in me.”
He also mentioned how important this win was for the team, especially with it being the last game before the start of conference play.
“I think this game gives us a huge confidence boost,” he said. “Especially after the last game, which we were pretty disappointed about.”
“We know that Big East teams are a different caliber, but I think today showed us that we can win whenever we want,” Kauschke added. “So I think we have good confidence and we’re going to produce.”
Head coach Andreas Lindberg praised Kauschke after the game, calling the sophomore midfielder “a special player.”
“After that first miss, [Kauschke] stepped up big time for us,” Lindberg said. “And I think it's because he was a little pissed off with himself, which he used as motivation—and it worked.”
Ahead of the team’s first game of conference play against Providence College on Friday, Lindberg echoed Kauschke’s sentiment about how tough Big East competition is while also sharing what the team needs to do to secure the win against the Friars.
“Big East play is something completely different,” he said. “So we need to recover for the next two days, and when Friday comes, we need to be tough on defense, keep possession, and put our chances away.”
As mentioned, the Pirates will return to Owen T. Carroll on Sept. 19 to face the Providence Friars in the first game of conference play this season, and the fourth of their five-game homestand.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
