Men's Soccer drops rainy home-opener to St. Thomas

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin men's soccer team could not overcome a 3-0 deficit as it dropped the home-opener against the University of St. Thomas, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at a rainy Fitting Field.

Five of the six goals were scored after halftime as the only mark to come in the first 45 minutes was scored by Alex Bernhardt of UST. Miles Stockman-Willis sent a cross pass to Bernhardt who finished it at the 14:20 mark, giving the Tommies a 1-0 advantage.

The early portion of the second half was controlled by the Tommies as they scored twice in the first 7:30, pushing their lead to 3-0. Nick Rapisarda scored at the 48:55 mark off a Matt Bouch pass, while Stockman-Willis scored off an assist from Bernhardt at the 52:29 mark.

The Falcons would not go away as sophomore Bobby Russ (Wauwatosa, Wis.) netted his first goal of the season off a pass from freshman Jordan Moehn (Fond du Lac, Wis.). The goal at the 56:13 mark cut the Tommies lead to 3-1.

CUW would net another goal at the 63:11 mark, this time Moehn scoring his first career collegiate goal. Moehn was there for a rebound after sophomore Keegan Van Dusseldorp (Burlington, Wis.) had a shot stopped, but Moehn tapped it in for the rebound. Senior Jacob Pope (Muskego, Wis.) was also credited with an assist on the play.

The 3-2 score would hold until 14:47 was left on the clock as Rapidsarda scored his second goal of the match, giving UST the insurance it needed to leave with the 4-2 victory. Ryan Bernhardt recorded an assist on the final scoring mark.

Mitchell Wolff picked up the win in net for the Tommies as he made one save, playing all 90 minutes. Junior Eric Vogel (Itasca, Ill.) stopped seven shots but took the loss for CUW. The Falcons were outshot 20-12.

CUW (2-2-1) will return to the pitch Thursday afternoon when they host No. 14 UW-Oshkosh at Fitting Field. UWO took on St. Thomas on Friday and the two teams played to a 1-1 tie. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.