Wilmington, NC - Cape Fear men's soccer lost a close game on Saturday by a score of 1-0 to USC Salkehatchie.

The game remained close throughout, but a few mental mistakes cost the Sea Devils. The game took a turn for the worse in the 32nd minute when Cape Fear was reduced to 10 men, but solid defensive play prevented the scoreline from growing.

Goalkeeper Michael Matsinger had a strong day, overall, making nine saves while showing steady leadership and great communication.

Defender Taylor Trimble made his first career start on Saturday. He showed great leadership and communication in the back and constantly read the long ball play by Salkehatchie.

Assistant coach McCartney Barrier praised Trimble's play along with defender Brooks McGill.

"They were both solid in the back," said Barrier. Coach Barrier also praised Matsinger for his number of good saves.

Even in the loss, Barrier saw his improvement. "The boys improved from our last game and everything started well. A few small mental mistakes cost us. Overall, [it] was a better performance."

Head coach C.W. Ponton echoed his assistant coach. "We're a young team, and we're making young team mistakes."

Coach Ponton wants to see more leadership from his entire roster.

"Now is the time I'm calling and looking for steady leadership from more than just captains. Small mental mistakes and brief seconds where we lacked focus lead to us losing 1-0 today being man down 58 minutes of the game."

Ponton is confident, however, that despite the mental mistakes his team will rebound with a better performance.

"We'll bounce back. I think our team is getting harsh reality checks right now, but I'm confident we'll be fine."

Cape Fear drops to 3-2 overall and in conference play.

Their next game is scheduled for Monday, September 10th, where they will face off against Richard Bland on the road at 4:00 p.m.

Courtesy of Nick Denning