THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510150228
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The Old Dominion men's soccer team thrived on playing with emotion at the start of the season. Lately, that intensity is nowhere to be found.
The Monarchs looked like a team without a purpose Saturday night against American, and a bad defensive lapse led to the game's only goal as the Eagles defeated ODU for the first time in 10 years 1-0.
The Monarchs (7-6, 2-2 CAA) were shut out for the second straight game and have scored just one goal in their last three contests.
``I don't know what the problem is,'' said Carlos Vasco, ODU's leading scorer with 12 goals and two assists. ``Every day I think about it and I can't come up with a reason.''
The Monarchs started the season with a 6-2 record, their best start since 1991. The team's lackluster play over the past two games is even more surprising in that ODU defeated nationally ranked James Madison just one week ago.
``I thought that game would be the impetus for us to move forward,'' said Monarchs coach Ralph Perez. ``I'm almost at a loss for words as to what to do.''
Perez changed formations to try to shake up his team, going with two-man markers in the defense and Byron Mitchell at sweeper, leaving five players in the midfield.
Even with the additional firepower, ODU managed only two shots in the first half, neither of which was on goal.
After going to halftime scoreless, the Monarchs picked up the pace a little to start the second half. In a three-minute stretch, Raul Ovalle fired two strong shots that went wide, and Brian DeLawter also had a solid attempt that went over the goal.
With 8:17 left to play, Emilio Romero dribbled into the box and around an Eagles defender, but his shot angled just wide of the far post.
``Maybe we're a little flat, not as cohesive as we'd like to be. This is probably the most disjointed game we've played so far this season,'' Perez said. ``We couldn't really rev it up the whole second half. . . . We were indecisive and then their goal comes from nothing.''
With less than seven minutes on the clock, American (6-7, 3-2) took a throw in from the left side of ODU's goal, about 20 yards from keeper Nathan Olansen. Although David Thomas had the opportunity to punch the ball downfield, he tried to play it to a teammate and lost possession in the box.
Eagles forward Scott Pearson got the ball back and sent a cross across the goal to Scott Weber, who shook loose from John Wierzbowski and got off a sliding shot from the top of the box that beat Olansen to the left corner of the net for the game-winner.
``This is frustrating because you look for answers, and I think the answer is that we're just not playing as well as we should,'' Perez said. ``We're not getting the performance out of our best players.''
American outshot ODU 13-12. Eagles goalkeeper Jeff Angelucci notched four saves, all in the second half, for his third shutout. by CNB