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Slow start dooms Ole men's soccer in Whitewater

Charlie Braman
September 8, 2003

After two solid performances on the road, the St. Olaf Men?s soccer team was left wondering what could have been. The Oles played hard but dropped a close game against UW-Whitewater, 2-1 on September 6, 2003.

A mere 17 seconds into Saturday?s game, Whitewater scored the first goal of the match with a header off a short cross. The goal served as a wake-up call for the Oles who immediately raised the intensity, sharing possession equally with Whitewater for the last 40 minutes of the first half. The Oles had their share of scoring opportunities, but failed to convert. Whitewater added another goal before halftime.

Trailing 2-0 going into the second half, St. Olaf picked up the pressure and dominated the scoring opportunities in the second half. When sophomore forward Mustafa Dualeh split the Whitewater defense in the 55th minute and was breaking to goal he was held by a trailing Whitewater defender on a foul that went, mysteriously, without a booking. Dualeh remained composed and bent the ensuing free kick around the wall of defenders, giving the keeper absolutely no chance.

With the deficit reduced to one, the Oles continued to play solid soccer, but like the previous match against Luther, a goal did not result from frequent opportunities. The game ended 2-1 in favor of Whitewater. "We played 85 minutes of good soccer today," said junior defender Matt Osborne after Saturday?s game against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, "but we needed 90 minutes."

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-786-3834 or finger@stolaf.edu.