Season-opener soured as men's soccer loses 1-0 battle to UW Oshkosh
ORANGE, Calif. – In an intense match more characteristic of a late-season contest between rivals, the Chapman University men's soccer team dropped its season-opener to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Titans, 1-0 at Wilson Field on Friday night.
The physical, scoreless battle tilted in Oshkosh's (1-0) favor as M Matt Cheaney took advantage of a failed clear attempt by the Chapman (0-1) defense to net the match's only goal in the 37th minute.
Chapman's best opportunity came in the 87th minute when a deflection off a corner kick gave M Daniel Malikyar a one-on-one opportunity with Titans GK Sam Gabrilska, who came up with one of his five saves on the night en route to a season-opening shutout.
Playing opposite Gabrilska, Chapman GK Nick Berardi (0-1) allowed the game's only goal while making two saves in the first half of play. Freshman GK Yuki Schafer made his collegiate debut in the second half, recording a save on his only opportunity.
The silver lining for the Panthers came in the return of senior D Chris Darling, who entered the match off the bench to see his first game action since the 2011 season. Darling missed the entire 2012 season due to a knee injury and is expected to be a key contributor to the Panthers club in 2013.
The Panthers will have the next eight days off before traveling to UC Santa Cruz for their annual showdown with the Banana Slugs at 12:30 p.m.
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/msoc/2013-14/boxscores/20130830_u8qw.xml
by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant
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