Clarkson Men Fall to Houghton, SLUBlanks Robert Wesleyan in LOTTOClassic Openers

POTSDAM - A pair of unlucky goals pushed the Clarkson University mens soccer team on edge for close to 70 minutes, as the Golden Knights fell 2-0in the season-opener against Houghton College in the LOTTO Tournament Classic Friday afternoon at Hantz Turf Field.

The Golden Knights, now 0-1-0 on the season, will face Roberts Wesleyan at 2 pm on Saturday. Houghton College, 2-2-0 overall, will play St. Lawrence University at noon. In game two of the LOTTO Tournament, St. Lawrence shut down Roberts Wesleyan, 2-0.

Both teams had chances in the early going, but it was an unfortunate misfire for Clarkson midway through the first half that put the Highlanders on the board first. Following a long throw-in by Zach Wise, the ball got punched around inside the box, and a failed clear resulted in an own goal at the 23:00 mark.

Early in the second half, Houghton tallied an insurance goal just a minute in. Sophomore Daniel Smith redirected a ball with the outside of his foot to the far post, finding the head of Aaron Martin, just 1:02 into the period.

Though Clarkson had its scoring opportunities in the second half, with the best one coming off a header from Tobin Boomer (Louisville, KY) that required a sprawling save by Houghton goalkeeper Steve Zacchigna, the team was unable to pick up a score.

Clarkson finished with an 11-6 edge in shots and a 5-2 lead in corner kick chances. Scott Stuart (Ottawa, ONT) made two saves for the Knights, while Zacchigna made four saves for the Highlanders.

SLU 2, Robert Wesleyan 0: In the second game of the tournament, the two teams battled each other to a scoreless halftime draw before the Saints began to take control with hefty advantages in shots and scoring chances.

SLU finally broke the tie with 27:59 remaining, as Sean Scott sent a long pass off a corner to the far side of the box. After a few soft bounces, the ball found the head of Alex Laird, who popped the shot into the top of the goal.

With just a few moments left in the contest, the Saints picked up an insurance goal when Sam DeMello sent a through pass to Sean Scott. The junior striker outmaneuvered the last defender and skipped the ball past the Raiders' diving goalkeeper at the 87:06 mark.

Brian Abernethy made three stops for the shutout while Erik Read made six saves in the losing cause