Men's Soccer Outshoots Mount Olive; Fall In Opener 2-1

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. -- The Catawba College men's soccer team rattled off 15 shots in Thursday night's season-opener against Mount Olive but came up short in a 2-1 defeat. 

The Trojans got their first goal on a misdirected cross that bounced off a Catawba defender and went into the net in the 14th minute, and Mount Olive struck again two minutes later to take a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes of play. 

Catawba tried to chip away with physical play as they were called for 13 first-half fouls. The Indians were unable to get on the board in the first half and went to the intermission down two goals. 

Six minutes into the second half, Catawba showed signs of life when Solano Birch scored the first goal of the season on an assist from Bautista Vecchi-Ramello. 

Catawba had a prime chance to equalize just a few minutes later when a hard foul in the box led to a UMO yellow card and a penalty kick that was taken by Vecchi-Ramello. The attempt was saved by the Trojans goalkeeper, and the rebound bounced around the box before Joe Bennett fired a shot that missed over the crossbar. 

The men's soccer team was able to fire off six more shots in the final 35 minutes, but none found the mark. Catawba fell in the season opener 2-1 despite outshooting UMO, 15-7. 

A total of 11 yellow cards were issued in the match that also had 31 fouls called. 

Catawba will play next on Wednesday, August 31 at Barton.