On Wednesday night, John Cabot University Men’s Soccer and Men’s 5on5 Soccer Teams took on the field for their second-to-last match in the Universities of Rome Championship before winter break.
MEN’S SOCCER
JCU played a tough match against Link Campus University (LCU) who, eventually, defeated our Gladiators 1-2.
First half, JCU tried to set up an intense game, wasting a few important opportunities to score. LCU immediately struck back, showing good technical and tactical skills that allowed them to take advantage of two mistakes from JCU defense. Soon into the game, the opponents took the lead and scored, closing the first half, 0-2.
In the second half, JCU mostly dominated the game, constantly pressing the opponents to their side of the field. The goal finally came for our Gladiators thanks to a great action on the left led by Ignacio Moreno who perfectly crossed the ball in the middle of the area to find Giorgio Castellani. Our forward did not miss out and scored, bringing the result to 1-2.
From that moment on, the game became even more intense with JCU being very close to tie the result in a few other occasions. But the opponents were careful and lucky enough to maintain the advatange, winning the match.
“We played well, and, of course, we don’t question the quality of the opponents,” coach Riccardo Concari commented at the end of the game. “LCU is a good team with valid players, but tonight, luck wan’t really on our side, especially in some occasions where we witnessed a few doutbful episodes that haven’t been called out by the referee.”
Beyond the result per se, you did a good job, Gladiators! And we are proud of each one of you and of your commitment to the team! So congrats, and keep working hard because there is one last important match to face next week!
MVP – Giorgio Castellani
MEN’S 5on5 SOCCER
Similarly, our Men’s 5on5 Soccer team had to face another challenging game against Foro Italico University (UFI) who brought home a 1-5 win over our Gladiators.
In the first half of the game, JCU attacked really well but was unbale to exploit some precious occasions, missing a few goals that could have been the key to change the overall pace of the entire match. On the contrary, UFI was able to move better on the field and score, taking the lead, 0-3. Our Gladiators were, therefore, forced to try to catch up with the opposing team, chasing the result for the rest of the game. Towards the end of the first half, JCU midfielder, Fernando Royuela found the goal, which closed the halftime, 1-3.
Second part of the game saw JCU pushing forward to try and tie the result, but this move left more space to the opponents to find their way on JCU side of the field and score again.
“Last night, we faced a very competitive team. UFI is really good team, and they have been playing together for a long time,” JCU coach Manuel Franceschi commented. ” But other than that, I think that we behaved well on the field, considering that our team is composed mostly of new players.”
Then Manuel continued, “There’s still a lot to work on, but I am confident enough that we can do way better in the future. I can see that the team is improving a lot, and yesterday, they played well, but this is not even half of what they can actually do with more time and practice.”
So congratulations, Gladiators! Keep it up, and be ready for next-week game!
MVP – Andrea Palazzi
COMING UP NEXT
Men’s Soccer: UFI vs JCU | Wednesday, December 5 | 9:00 pm | CONI – Acqua Acetosa
Men’s 5on5 Soccer: PFG vs JCU | Wednesday, December 5 | 9:00 pm | Trastevere Stadium
