CLAREMORE, Okla. — No. 9 Rogers State Men's Soccer (4-1-1) dropped its first game of the season to St. Mary's (3-2-) 2-1 on Saturday in the non-conference finale at Soldier Field.
RSU broke through in the 27th minute when
Brandon O'Rourke scored off
Gian Filizzola's assist, giving RSU a 1-0 lead. Earlier, the Hillcats earned two corners in the first eight minutes and later forced a save on a
Harkaran Sahota shot, while
Tristan Miller kept the Rattlers off the board with a save during a physical stretch. After the goal, RSU continued to create chances, with O'Rourke forcing another save and
Conor Mills having an effort kept out by a team save before Filizzola and
Matthew Reed added shots. The Rattlers pushed late with a saved shot, two corners and another attempt in the final three minutes, but Miller and the Hillcats' defense carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
RSU was overtaken in the second half as the Rattlers scored twice after halftime and handed the Hillcats a 2-1 final loss. Earlier, the Cats played through a physical opening stretch with six fouls and an
Alex Laing yellow card before Miller made three saves in less than a minute, stopping shots by Lewis Boney, Filipe Bastos and Ricky Alvarez. The Rattlers broke through in the 60th minute when Eduardo Fernandez scored off an Alvarez assist to tie it 1-1, then Kai Louviere scored in the 66th minute with assists from Alvarez and Fernandez to put RSU behind 2-1. The Hillcats pushed for an equalizer with late chances from
Louis Bassett, O'Rourke, Laing and
Jamie Kennedy, plus corner kicks in the 79th and 88th minutes, but Nichita Misac made four second-half saves to keep the score at 2-1 through the final whistle.
O'Rourke scored RSU's goal and led the team with four shots, putting three on goal. Filizzola recorded an assist and added one shot. Bassett finished with three shots, including two on goal. Goalkeeper Miller (4-1-1) made six saves in 90 minutes.
The Hillcats will hit the road next Thursday at 7 p.m. for the GAC/MIAA opener against No. 25 Fort Hays State in Hays, Kansas.
