Clayton, Mo., March 13th, 2021 – The Westminster College Blue Jays men's soccer team stepped onto the pitch today after a very long wait. November 6th, 2019 was the last time the Blue Jays stepped onto the pitch to play a game. One year, four months and seven days give or take a day. Contrast that with Fontbonne who had the advantage of this being their fifth game of the season. The Griffins would use that experience to eke out a 1-0 win late.
The Blue Jays and the Griffins would battle scoreless for more than 81 minutes. Then, at the 81:24 mark the Griffins Joe Noah would score an unassisted goal for the only score of the game.
The Blue Jays would outshoot the Griffins 14-12 on the day. The Blue Jays would get eight corners to one for the Griffins. Despite all of the pressure the Blue Jays were putting on the Fontbonne defense they just couldn't find the back of the net.
The Blue Jays best scoring chances came in the first half. The first came just 8:15 into the game when midfielder Joshua Udinyiwe took a cross and ripped a shot that was saved by the Fontbonne keeper. Late in the half at the 38:09 mark forward Philip Udinyiwe got loose on a breakaway. He tried to go high but the keeper was able to push the shot wide of the goal.
Chase Vogt was in goal for the Blue Jays and he faced six shots and made five saves.
Head Coach Adam Galla had this to say about the Blue Jays opener, "I felt we played really well for large portions of the game. We created a couple of chances but weren't able to put one away." He also added, 'We also did a very good jobof limiting their chances on the defensive side of the ball. This being our first game we had some really good moments that we can build off of going forward."
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Wednesday evening when they will play their home opener against the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers. Kick off is set for 7:00 p.m.
