WEST POINT, N.Y. – The La Salle men's soccer team (0-1) found the net twice Thursday afternoon, but a big first half propelled Army (1-0) to a 4-2 win at Malek Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Army nearly took the lead in the seventh minute, as they were awarded an early penalty shot but D'Anthony Brown's attempt sailed wide.
• Andrew Guerra broke the ice in the 15^th minute for the Black Knights, heading teammate Drew Clement's cross past Explorer keeper Cam Hall to give Army an early 1-0 lead.
• La Salle answered with a penalty shot goal from Ike Hollinger in the 20^th minute to level the score at 1-1. Black Knight keeper Jacob Suppiah came far off his line and took out Hollinger, who confidently stepped to the spot and made Suppiah dive the wrong way as he slotted in his fifth career goal.
• Sean Lee responded for Army, blasting a powerful shot inside the box around Hall to regain the lead for the Black Knights at the 29' mark, 2-1.
• Nigel Buckley, La Salle's co-leading scorer in the spring 2021 season, wasted no time finding the equalizer, as he tied the game at 2-2 just 1:31 after Lee's go-ahead goal.
• Preseason All-Patriot League forward Oscar Pereira stuffed the stat sheet in the following minutes, scoring his first goal of the season in the 33^rd minute before assisting Brandon Bryant's 35^th minute goal as Army surged in front, 4-2, where it would remain until halftime.
• After converting his first attempt, Hollinger was awarded a second shot from the spot in the second half. However, Suppiah guessed correctly the second-time around, diving to his left to make a crucial save and maintain Army's 4-2 lead in the 54^th minute.
• The Explorers outshot the Black Knights 7-2 in the second half, but Suppiah's five saves held La Salle off the board as Army closed out the game 4-2.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• La Salle led the game in shots (17-10), shots on goal (10-4), and corners (8-2).
• Hall (0-1) was tagged with the loss while Suppiah (1-0) made seven saves in his first win of the season.
• Seven different Explorers recorded shots, led by Omari Cotterell's five and Hollinger's four.
• Charlie Collins, Franc Gamiz Quer, and Luis Puchol all led the team with full 90 minute performances for the La Salle backline.
• Freshman Daniel Kim made is collegiate debut on Thursday, logging 28 minutes of action. 

UP NEXT:
The Explorers will return home for their McCarthy Stadium opener when they host St. Francis Brooklyn on Monday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.