Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's soccer team went down to 10 men in the 55th minute and opened its season with a 3-0 defeat to Canisius this afternoon from the North Athletic Complex.
The contest was more competitive than the score suggests, as Robert Morris (0-1-0, 0-0-0 NEC) held a 9-5 edge in second half shot attempts and had a few dangerous chances to pull a goal back. After an evenly played opening 20 minutes, Canisius (1-0-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) took the lead with a set piece and grabbed a second shortly after, forcing the hosts to play catch up for the majority of the match.
RMU had its first great chance in the ninth minute, when Owen Pearce sprinted after a through ball into the box. He got there in time to get a shot off, but a rushing Bryce Tramuta deflected it away.
The Golden Griffins scored in the 21st minute after earning a corner kick. Bjarki Benediktsson swung in a good cross, missing the head of one forward but connecting with the foot of Alessio Atzori, who slotted it past Winter Fondi.
Canisius' second goal came four minutes later as a curler by Manuelle Cavazzoli met the head of Filippo Tamburini, who then left it off for Troy Brady to send home.
After weathering the storm for the rest of the half, the Colonials caught their wind and went to work right after the second half whistle. Riccardo Rota ripped a volley just over the crossbar in the 49th minute, then Lorenzo Guagneli saw his attempt blocked up front. The deflection fell to Christian Coridon, who had his shot gloved by Tramuta.
Coridon would find the back of the net in the 53rd minute, but an offside whistle erased the goal. Two minutes later, a foul near the Canisius bench saw Matt Cillo sent off with his second yellow card.
Despite the numbers disadvantage, RMU kept pushing through with the majority of possession. Cristian Palermo – who led the Colonials with four shot attempts – saw a crack at goal deflected away by a Canisius defender in the 59th minute. Kai Olguin skied a free kick just over the crossbar in the 67th minute, and Guagneli curled one wide of the post in the 68th.
The Colonials' best chance with 10 men came in the 70th minute as the Guagneli played Palermo into the box with a through ball, but Tramuta managed to corral Palermo's shot attempt.
After Oeyvind Skjesol ripped a free kick wide of the netting in the 75th minute, Canisius earned a foul inside the 18 and put the game away with a Brady penalty kick.
The Golden Griffins owned a 15-14 difference in shot attempts, with 12 of them being on net. Fondi made eight saves between the posts for RMU.
A trio of freshmen (Guagneli, Palermo, Raffaele Vio) and first-year sophomore Cillo all appeared in the Starting XI for the hosts.
Robert Morris hits the road for a matchup with St. Bonaventure at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 26.
Follow the Colonials: Twitter | Instagram
