LEXINGTON, Va.- Despite outshooting an opponent for the first time this season by a 22-17 margin, the VMI men's soccer team was defeated 4-0 Sunday afternoon by Adelphi, in a match where the Panthers managed a pair of goals in both the first and second half in the outcome.
The match opened up with several opportunities by both sides, as each team had three shots on goal in the opening 10 minutes of action.
The Panthers (4-2) would notch the first goal of the match in the 11th minute, as Domencio Parrelli found Kris Nosworthy with a through ball on the right flank. Nosworthy then picked up his first assist of the day, sending a cross to John Koutsoundadis who chipped a shot past VMI (0-5-1) keeper Brian Sowell into the lower right corner of the net to give the Panthers the early 1-0 advantage.
VMI would have a pair of opportunities in the ensuing 20 minutes of action, as a promising Matt Seinfeld free-kick was blocked for a corner-kick. Off the corner, Kurt Zimmerman's header was blocked and cleared away by the Adelphi defense. Five minutes later, Amir Shihata had a shot on frame that deflected by Adelphi keeper Thorne Holder, and a follow-up attempt by Brian Harding narrowly missed the inside part of the right side of the net.
Despite VMI's persistent offensive opportunities, Adelphi would notch another goal right before the half in the 43rd minute. Sam Vanaria sent a volley inside the six yard box that found of the foot of Steven Rivera, who would find the right corner of the net to give Adelphi the 2-0 lead right before the half.
VMI, who carried a 13-10 shot advantage heading into the intermission, almost cut the lead in half only three minutes after the second half began, as Ayao Sossou utilized his speed to beat a pair of Panther defenders, firing a rocket of a shot from 20-yards out that was deflected out of bounds by a sprawling Thorne in his top save of the match.
The Sossou opportunity was countered by the Panther offense, who would add the third goal in the 49th minute on Nosworthy's second assist of the match, this time a cross from 40-yards out on the right side to Issa Tall, who sent a volley into the lower right portion of the goal the extend the Panther advantage to 3-0.
VMI again threatened to get on the board in 17 minutes remaining, as an offensive buildup resulted in shots by Sonny Landry, Zach Morgan, and Harding that all were blocked by the Panther defense.
Adelphi would then add an additional goal in the 84th minute to bring the final score to 4-0.
Sowell made four saves in the loss, while Holder had eight stops for the Panthers.
The Keydets return to action on Friday in the squads final non-conference matchup of the season, hosting the Mercer Bears at 4 p.m. from Patchin Field. As always, live stats will be available via VMIKeydets.com.
