The Howard University men’s soccer team suffered a 0-6 loss against the St. Francis-Brooklyn Terriers in their Northeast Conference (NEC) opener.
This loss dropped the Bison to 1-6 on the year, continuing the recent losing streak the team has held. Last season, the Bison ended the season with a 3-10-3 record. They have opened with four straight losses, similar to the progression of last year’s season.
The current losing trend has caused some internal frustration.
“It’s obviously very frustrating to start the season with a losing record, mainly due to the obvious talent we have on this team,” freshman forward Christian Rufael said.
St. Francis made a statement early, nailing four goals in the first half of action to the Bison’s zero. The Terriers began a run with a penalty kick score late in the first half of the action. This was the start of a 3-0 run over a 10-minute stretch of game time that put the game out of reach.
When time expired, the shots on goal statistics told the story of the game. The Bison were outshot 20-3 in the lopsided affair. The Terriers’ six goals scored in the game are the most by an NEC team since Oct. 24, 2021.
Even in the loss, the Bison were not without a standout individual performance. Freshman goalkeeper JR Gawel tallied seven stops in the match. St. Francis-Brooklyn put lots of pressure on the goal and kept the ball on Howard’s side during the overwhelming majority of the game.
Howard is currently last in the NEC standings, but freshman forward Rufael is confident for change moving forward. When asked about the keys to flipping the season around, Rufael said, “I think if we just turn the page and implement a winning mindset combined with the vast amount of talent we have on this team, it will definitely turn this season around for us and provide winning opportunities in these upcoming matches.”
The Bison look to turn things around as they will take on a large slate of conference matchups in October.
