With two top goal scorers from 2008 on the shelf due to injury to start the season, early deficits have been tough to overcome for a sputtering Deacons offense. Tuesday afternoon proved no different as a pair of early goals proved insurmountable, with Coach Falloon's squad eventually falling to the C.W. Post Pioneers 3-1. The loss dropped the Deacons to 0-4 on the young season.
The Pioneers offense struck in just the fifth minute of play when Leron Haywood headed a corner kick into the left upper-90 to put C.W. Post on top 1-0. Just eight minutes later, James Stevenson knocked in a deflected shot in front of the net to give the Pioneers a two-goal cushion, a lead they would never relinquish.
"We had some defensive breakdowns early, and we just weren't able to recover," Deacons head coach
Peter-John Falloon said. "We had some breakdowns in the box, and they both led to early goals. Unfortunately we weren't able to recover offensively."
They were able to correct the defensive misques until the 83'rd minute, when Emanuel Messina broke in and beat goalie
Steven Alonso for the Pioneers' third goal of the match. But the offense rallied just two minutes later, when forward Evans Tageo headed a ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the '09 season, bring the Deacons to within two. The final whistle came just shortly after, though, with the Deacons offense notching ten shots in the loss.
Coach Falloon was pleased with the caliber of his group's scoring chances, and noticed more visible improvements as the team progresses.
"We had several good scoring chances today, but we just couldn't find the back of the net," he said. "We just need to finish now. We have had a better overall team effort each time out, which is great to see. Now we just need to clean up some of the miscommunications, and put the ball in the back of the net when we get a chance."
The Deacons return to action Saturday, when they open their conference schedule against Chestnut Hill College. The opening whistle is set for 2:00 PM.
