Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris men's soccer team ended the match tied, 1-1 against Niagara. In the Colonials second game of the season, they're now 1-0-1 overall and the Purple Eagles are 0-1-1.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The tone was set early to be a physical game with Niagara as 15 fouls were called within the first 16 minutes of the game, including a yellow card given to a player on the away side.
RMU stuck to their game through the chaos, as they settled in well defensively. During that first-time frame of 16 minutes, the Colonials didn't allow a single shot attempt, and made two of their own along with one corner kick.
What looked to be the home side's breakthrough in the 23
rd minute, was unfortunately called offsides. It was a 2-on-0 chance for RMU, sprinting down the right side past defenders, but across the field the side official's flag came up to signal offsides.
Following that play, head coach Jonathan Potter got fresh legs out on the pitch, replacing all seven midfielders and forwards. The backline of
Fabian Overkamp,
Robert Kolbeins and
Tim Koczulap along with goalkeeper
Kieran Gorgenyi remained intact for the rest of the first half.
Keeping the pressure on, RMU posted three more shots towards the target, but in the 37
th minute, Niagara created their first scoring chance and capitalized on it to take the lead. The Colonials hadn't given up a shot till then.
Rounding out the rest of the first half, RMU peppered two more shots and earned two more corner kicks but couldn't manage to pound one in before the horn after 45 minutes.
Continuing on with physical play in the second half, both teams had two individuals issued yellow cards.
Finally, in the 68
th minute, the Colonials executed on a scoring play.
John Paul Mbuthia almost scored but a save was made by the Purple Eagles goalie. Niagara tried clearing it out, but
Tim Koczulap pressed into Niagara's half to keep possession. He blasted a cross to the back post and
Nolan Hutter made the perfect run, soaring in the air to smash a header in off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
RMU tied up the game, 1-1 with time to take the lead.
Looking to win the game, the home side followed up with four more shots and two more corner kicks in the final 20 minutes. Giovanni Covelli of Niagara who scored their lone goal, was given another yellow card and therefore a red card with six minutes left to play.
RMU was able to play a man-up for the last six minutes till the clock hit zero. Battling for a last-minute winner, the Colonials pressed and got fresh legs out on the field with just a few minutes to go. In the end, the game stayed tied, and both sides walked away with a draw, 1-1.
SCORING PLAYS
37' – Giovanni Corvelli (Goal), Assisted by: Piecarli Arghittu
68' –
Nolan Hutter (Goal), Assisted by:
Tim Koczulap
HUTTER'S HEADER
In scoring the game-tying goal,
Nolan Hutter in his second year in the program, scored his first goal for RMU. A veteran presence as a graduate student, Hutter has been a leader on and off the field for the Colonials. A local talent out of Montour High School produced his first point in front of his home crowd right near where he grew up.
KOCZULAP KNOWS THE ROPES
Freshman
Tim Koczulap has started in both games for RMU at the left center back position. The German native has helped RMU only allow one goal through 180 minutes of play, but has also produced some offense. Currently, through two non-conference battles, Koczulap is the team's assist leader, as he's dished out a helper off a long cross in both games.
IN THE BOX SCORE
Overall, the Colonials created many chances in the game. They only allowed six shots with three on goal. RMU had 10 different players record a shot, and tallied 20 shots by the end of the match. Seven shots were on target. Comparing possession numbers, RMU owned the ball at 61%, while Niagara had it 39% of the time.
QUOTABLE
"We showed a number of clips to the team on what to expect for today. Overall, there's more we could have done with it, but the guys did a very good job." – Head Coach Jonathan Potter
"Niagara was a physical team. I thought they did a great job on aerial duels and first and second balls. We were down at halftime and I told the group that this was the first time of the year this group's been faced with adversity, so it was good to see us respond and tie it up." – Head Coach Jonathan Potter
"We had 20 attempts on goal and seven on target. We have a lot of new players and haven't been together that long, so with our next match on Friday, we have a lot of time for preparation and time to work on our finishing in the final third." – Head Coach Jonathan Potter
UP NEXT
RMU heads out for their first away game of the season, but staying in Pennsylvania as they'll travel east to Lewisburg, Pa. to take on Bucknell. The game will be played on Friday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m.
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