In an intramural soccer game Monday night, Alpha Theta Pi Razorbacks beat the Phi Kappa Pi Rams 2-1.
From the kickoff, Alpha possessed the ball well, winning a corner on the right side of the field.
Alpha defender Andrew Netz whipped in the free kick but had it punched away by Martín Jacoby, the Rams’ keeper.
Netz recovered possession and delivered another cross into the box, but a header by Drew Hoffman went over the bar.
After some build up by Alpha, Zack Provenzano crossed the ball in to Toby Sims.
Sims timed his run perfectly and powered a header into the back of the net to put Alpha up 1-0.
Soon after, the ball fell to the feet of Jadan Kashi who powerfully kicked past the keeper, giving Alpha a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
“We had good passing to the outside,” said Luke Sherbondy, the right midfielder for Alpha. “That allowed for a lot of crosses, and that’s how we managed to score our goals.”
In the second half, Jonathan God and Jesse Cave of the Rams gave every effort to create offense.
They sent several through balls to forwards Ryan Anderson and Brandon Hobi but were unable to crack Alpha’s defense.
Eventually, the Rams broke through. Freshman midfielder Erik Guzman received an excellent through ball.
Guzman made a double cut and slid the ball through the legs of the defender.
He took a few touches towards the goal before chipping the ball over the keeper and into the net, giving the Rams new life.
However, Alpha continued to control the game until the final whistle, winning 2-1.
“We controlled the ball well the first half, but lost possession of the ball in second half a lot more often,” Netz said. “We’ll have to get more conditioned as a team, but it was a good first game.”
Despite the loss, the Rams see potential. “We were not able to keep possession at all. Had we made smart passes and found the open man, it could have been a different game,” God said.
Alpha (1-0) looked strong and seems poised to make another run to the Turkey Bowl.
The Rams (0-1-1) held their own but need to possess more as they continue to look for their first win.