Wilmington, NC - Cape Fear men's soccer lost at home to USC Lancaster, 4-2 on Saturday.
The Sea Devils entered the match looking to bounce back from 4-3 defeat to Louisburg College on October 12th. It didn't start well, as the Lancers' Fernando Gonzalez scored in the 2nd minute to give his team the lead. But Cape Fear quickly responded, as defender Logan Edwards scored in the 6th minute to level the game at 1-1 off an assist from midfielder Franco Fernandez. It remained level until the 40th minute, when Alfredo Martinez scored to put Cape Fear up 2-1. Two minutes later, Cape Fear's Eric Brewer and Lancaster's Nicolas Beauchamp were issued red cards, making it a 10-on-10 match the rest of the game.
Despite the ejections, Cape Fear had the lead and momentum heading into halftime, and hoped to control it in the second half. The Lancers came out aggressive; however, and just six minutes into the second half they tied the game thanks to a goal from Scott Endres. The game snowballed from there, as Endres scored goals in the 53rd and 56th minutes to give Lancaster a 4-2 lead that Cape Fear couldn't rebound from.
Assistant coach Richard Yakubu felt the Sea Devils entered the second half with the wrong mindset.
"We came out slow in the second half, we didn't bring the energy and mindset to put them away. We gave them hope, and they ran with it."
Cape Fear managed to outshoot Lancaster 20-12 on attempts, but the road team was more successful at converting.
"On the offensive end we looked good, but our recovery was very poor this evening," said head coach C.W. Ponton.
Poor defending in part contributed to the loss, which Ponton and Yakubu both felt hurt more than others this season.
"It's a difficult loss", said coach Yakubu. "I think we are more worried about history. Hopefully our guys are not mad about this loss, and more hurt. We didn't rise to the occasion."
Ponton shared similar feelings.
"This loss hurts. We got outplayed and fell right into our opponents game plan, so props to them for that."
Ponton said he spoke with a few players afterwards about the importance of playing a complete game. They came to a consensus that they have too much talent to let leads get away from them.
"In talking with some players after the game we all agree that we are too good for situations like these to happen. What I mean is to show dominance from the beginning and hold it after we're winning in an effective and mature manner."
But Ponton and Yakubu both felt the team has what it takes to bounce back from the loss. In particular, Ponton emphasized the trust he has in his players.
"I'm not mad at anyone, but we need to take this feeling of hurt and carry it into our next game. We need to come together as a team after this loss. I trust this team, we've become a family. I expect us to bounce back."
Cape Fear falls to 7-5 on the season and 6-5 in conference. They play next on Monday, October 16th, where they will take on Patrick Henry Community College at home. Gametime is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
