Men's Soccer Spring Update

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall University men’s soccer team opened the competitive portion of its spring season with an exhibition at St. Joseph’s University on Saturday, April 6, scoring a pair of second half goals to secure a 2-2 tie with the Hawks.

Junior John Gurel (Istanbul, Turkey) finished with three points, scoring the game-tying goal late in the second half and setting up freshman Eric Lagg (Lafayette, N.J.) for the Pirates’ first goal of the match.

Despite controlling the run of play in the first period, a pair of first half miscues for the Pirates allowed St. Joseph’s to lead 2-0 at the half. The Hawks’ first goal came on an impressive shot from the corner that curled in to the far post. St. Joseph’s extended its lead when Seton Hall’s defensive line was caught in a counter attack. A deflected cross into the box caught an SHU defender on the hand and the Hawks converted the ensuing penalty kick.

“The whole time I felt like we had more control of the ball but we couldn’t break their defensive line, we weren’t really dangerous,” said Seton Hall head men’s soccer coach Gerson Echeverry. “In the second half we were plugging away right from the start, going at them and creating a lot of chances.”

With more than 70 minutes gone by, Gurel started what turned into Seton Hall’s first scoring play of the game. He broke through on the right side and sent a cross in to Lagg. He ran on to it and blasted a shot off the bottom of the cross bar. The ball bounced down and then back in to the top of the net to cut the St. Joseph’s lead in half.

About five minutes later Gurel called his own number. Taking a touch in on the right side he powered a left-footed shot toward the left post to tie the game. Seton Hall would have a handful of more chances to take a late lead but was unable to tally a third strike.

Junior Kevin Bonder (Whippany, N.J.) played nearly all 90 minutes in net for the Pirates

“It’s the spring, and our first game and I think there were a lot of positives. Guys were coming around as the game went on. I thought our subs did really well,” Echeverry said. “We had quite a few chances late in the game, but St. Joseph’s set in, had a defensive wall and made things difficult for us. They made a couple saves and we missed a few shots.”

Seton Hall continues its spring exhibition season this Sunday when it plays a pair of 60-minute games at Princeton University.