Men's Soccer vs. Holy Names

Sea Lions Frustrated Against Holy Names

The Sea Lions took 25 shots against Holy Names on Thursday, but were unable to finish and ended up losing 3-1. PLNU drops to 1-2 on the year while the Hawks improved to 1-0-1.

Less than two minutes into match Holy Names' forward Liam Whelan scored on a breakaway. That goal was less than a minute after another Hawk's shot was called back due to offsides. HNU took a 2-0 lead in the 15th minute when Mustafa Celik scored on a cross.

At that point it looked like HNU might runaway with the non-conference tilt. The Sea Lions settled down, however, and slowly began to control the tempo of the game. Twenty-eight minutes into the first PLNU halved the deficit when Macaine Piercy headed in an assist by Austin Fares.

At the break the Sea Lions had a 10-8 advantage in shots taken (10-8) but were still trailing 2-1. PLNU then outshot the Hawks 15-5 in the second but the Sea Lions could not put the ball into the net despite multiple opportunities. PLNU also had a huge 11-1 advantage on corners.

Celik made the final score 3-1 when he sent in a goal on a foul kick from 35 yards out in the 61st minute. His shot was just under the crossbar and barely over the outstretched arms of PLNU keeper Eric Leboffe.

Leboffe ended up making three saves on the day while his counterpart, Lars Johansen, made four.

The match, as it usually is between the two squads, was chippy. Eighteen fouls were called including six yellows handed out by the ref. Holy Names was flagged for offsides nine times as well.

The Sea Lions host Cal State San Marcos on Tuesday at 2:00 pm.

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