The Allegheny College men’s soccer team traveled on Sept. 15 to the Baierl Athletic Complex at La Roche University.

Coming into the game, the soccer team had a track record of two wins and two losses, whereas the La Roche men’s soccer team came into the game on a four game win streak.

The La Roche men’s team started the game off strong when Jake Gorman, the junior forward, scored the first goal of the game 12 minutes in.

The Gators responded by scoring a goal of their own just one minute after Gorman’s, and followed with three more goals in the first half scored by Alex Riel, ’22, Shane Lisman, ’23, and Cliff Weaver, ’25.

At the half, the Gators were leading against the home team 4-1. After a slow beginning to the second half of the game, the Gators scored 5 goals in the last 20 minutes of the game by Darius Googe, ’25, Ryan Hilty, ’22, and Keegan Cassidy, ’22, who scored the closing penalty goal.

Hilty, the senior forward, led the team in the highest number of goals scored, and senior goal-keeper Jack Barron-Sluga, ’22, assisted in this win by making a few great saves.

After being subbed in for Barron-Sluga, Gabe Anthony also kept the opposing team from scoring.

Despite the efforts from the Red Hawks, the Allegheny Gators defeated La Roche with a 9-1 final score, making this the first time since the 10-3 win against Pitt-Bradford back in 1990 that the Allegheny College men’s soccer team ended with a record of this proportion.

“Oh I was feeling pretty good,” Weaver said. “It was our biggest win since 1990, and it was a confidence booster.”

Zach Ioli, ’23, spoke about the particular aspects of the team’s abilities that led to the win.

“We just connected through all three levels, in the back, in the midfield and the top,” Ioli said.

Shane Lisman, ’23, also spoke to the nature of the win.

“We finished our chances well,” Lisman said.

Despite the win, Head Coach Angelo Panzetta spoke a bit to the abilities of their opponent.

“La Roche has some good things going on with their squad,” Panzetta said.

Following their 9-1 win against La Roche, the Gators hosted SUNY Fredonia at the Robertson Athletic Complex. Both Allegheny College and Fredonia came into this game with a 3-2 track record, with more wins than losses.

Despite winning against La Roche on Sept. 15, the Gators fell to the Blue Devils. An early goal by the Blue Devils ended up being the only point scored in the game.

After the game, Panzetta spoke to the nature of the loss, but made it a point to compliment his team.

“We played solid today,” Panzetta said. “Just a couple of extra plays needed to be made. You know it’s a tough 1-0 loss. I thought we played really well. It was just the difference of a couple of areas of precision that could have helped us today.”

Weaver provided an explanation for why the Gators might not have been able to score in this match.

“I think it was a good team, but I think we played better than them,” Weaver said. “I think we were just lacking something in that final third to score goals.”

In the heat of the loss, Panzetta compared the skills of La Roche and Fredonia.

“Two different opponents for sure,” Panzetta said. “La Roche has some good things going on with their squad and stuff. So much different than the squad for Fredonia, who’s one of the better teams in the conference.”

After an impressive week, the men’s soccer team will take on Kenyon tomorrow, Sept. 25 at 3:30 p.m. The matchup can be watched online.