Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College men's soccer team suffered their first setback of the 2022 season on Saturday, falling 2-0 to non-conference opponent Georgian Court University on Ted Grant Field.

The Lions of Georgian Court took a 1-0 lead in the 18^th minute when senior defender Jay Abraham scored off an assist from junior midfielder Sam Thombs.

Le Moyne graduate goalkeeper Josh Mahr (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) made two saves during the match, and they both came during the first half.

Defender Michael Lantry (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Syracuse/DePaul) put a shot on goal in the 19^th minute, but GCU goalkeeper Sotirios Gkosdis came up with the save.

Down 1-0 after the first 45 minutes, the Dolphins made some adjustments at halftime and created plenty of scoring opportunities during the second period.

Just over thirty seconds into the second half, defender Benedict Klimmek (Kiel, Germany/RBZ am Schützenpark) sent a long diagonal forward pass from inside Le Moyne's half across the field to Brett Stern (Lockport, N.Y./Newfane/Duquesne) on the left sideline near the Le Moyne bench. Stern faced up his defender while Jack Goodrich (Kelsall, England/King's School Chester) made an overlapping run down the left wing as they entered the attacking third. Stern sent a pass into Goodrich's path and the sophomore outside back's first touch was a cross with his left foot towards the back post. Graduate forward Max Buesch (Odenthal, Germany/Gymnasium Odenthal/Bethany Lutheran) was on receiving end of the pass, but it was a bit too high and Buesch's header sailed high off target and out of bounds.

With just over 35 minutes remaining in the second half freshman forward Jackson Card (McGraw, N.Y./McGraw) sent a cross on the ground from the right side towards the top of the box. Stern cut in from the left side and hit a one-time shot on the ground that was blocked by a defender and deflected out of bounds for a corner kick.

A few minutes later Card made a nice move past his defender down the right wing and sent a cross into the box which was cleared away for another corner kick.

The Dolphins earned seven corner kicks during the final 45 minutes compared to just two for the Lions.

Le Moyne continued to put pressure on the GCU defense during the second half looking for the equalizer.

During the 69^th minute graduate midfielder Tom Henne (Hamburg, Germany/Gymnasium Buckhorn) hit a pass ahead to Buesch on a quick counterattack. Buesch had only one defender between him and the goalie, so he dribbled towards goal. Buesch entered the 18-yard box with his defender jostling him for position. Le Moyne's graduate forward was able to get a shot off, but his defender did a good job cutting down his angle, and the shot sailed out of bounds to the left of the post for a goal kick.

Thirty seconds later Goodrich got the ball at the edge of Le Moyne's attacking third on the left side of the field. He sent a pass in the air onto the head of Buesch, who made a vertical run between two defenders in the box. Buesch headed the ball straight down, but it bounced to the right of the post and out of bounds for a goal kick.

With 16:06 left in the game, Henne took a free kick from the right side of the field and put a ball into the box. Lantry rose in the air and contacted the ball with his forehead, but the header sailed well over the crossbar.

Klimmek put a shot on goal in the 74^th minute, but Gkosdis recorded his second save of the match to maintain a clean sheet.

The Dolphins continued to push forward and press for the equalizing goal, which allowed Georgian Court to produce a quick counterattack during the 89^th minute. Lions Freshman midfielder Cherif Tamar sent a pass to freshman forward David Tuschmann who deposited the ball into the back of the net to double his team's lead and put the match to bed.

The Le Moyne College men's soccer team now holds a 2-1 record, and they will host another non-conference match on Ted Grant Field on Wednesday, September 7, when they take on Mercyhurst University at 1:00 p.m.