Sept. 29, 2009

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Delaware scored two goals in the opening 16 minutes and held on as the La Salle men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 non-conference decision in Newark, DE, on Tuesday night. The Explorers fall to 3-5-1, while the Blue Hens move to 3-6-0.

The Blue Hens dominated the first half and got on the board just 3:54 into the contest when Chibsah Faisal converted a penalty kick attempt.

Faisal then found Darren Christie in the box just shy of the 16 minute mark, who dodged Explorer keeper Mason Astaneh for the second score of the game. The Explorers came close to cutting the deficit in half when Ryan Sepe took a shot in the 20th minute toward the net, but Delaware keeper Brandon Paul made a diving save to keep the Blue and Gold off the board.

After giving up 10 shots in the first half, the Explorers gained control of the game coming out of the locker room in the second stanza. The Blue Hens did not get a shot off in the second half, while the Explorers peppered five on the home team.

The teams were even in the stat categories on Tuesday night. Both teams took 10 shots with Delaware's 10 in the first half and La Salle's split evenly between periods. Both teams also had four corner kick opportunities in the contest. The very physical game saw a combined 28 fouls and six yellow cards - three for each team.

Astaneh got his first career start in goal for the Explorers and made three saves in his debut. Paul made four saves while earning the win for the Blue Hens.

The Explorers return home to McCarthy Stadium on Saturday (10/3) when they host Marist at 1:00 PM.