Men's soccer blanked 2-0 by St. Bonaventure, ending playoff hopes

On Senior Night, the University of Richmond men's soccer team got shut out for the eighth time this season, falling to the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies 2-0 and ending any chance of an Atlantic 10 playoff berth.

"It's horrible for our seniors to lose on their night," said redshirt freshman goalie Brock Tomlinson, whose team is now 2-12-3 and 1-4-3 in the A-10.

The Spiders honored their four seniors -- Thomas Kale, Brennan Lincoln, Scott Loesser and Delano Pierre -- with a brief ceremony before the start of the game.

Sophomore Brett Allen scored first for the Bonnies during the 40th minute of play. Sophomore Kevin Mjaatvedt -- who got the assist -- sent a long pass along the right sideline, prompting Tomlinson to scamper out in an attempt to break it up. But Tomlinson backed up when he realized that Allen would beat him to the ball, and Allen took the shot that eventually scored.

"There was miscommunication between the defenders and some hesitation," Tomlinson said.

The second goal came during the 84th minute, when St. Bonaventure junior Samuel Maheu broke away from the Richmond defense along the left side of the field and scored an unassisted goal. It was his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

The loss knocked Richmond out of the running for an A-10 tournament berth. Fordham University is in sixth place with 12 points, the same number with which Richmond had entered the game. The Spiders needed two wins and Fordham to lose its final game in order to tie Fordham for sixth.

St. Bonaventure moved to 5-6-4 overall and 2-4-1 in the Atlantic 10.

"I am disappointed [that we were eliminated]," said Kale, a back from Charlotte, N.C. "I feel like we have worked really hard this year. It stinks to go out like this."

A scuffle broke late during the game along the Bonnies' sideline, resulting in one ejection and three other yellow cards.

Bonnies sophomore David DiNardo was given a red card after he shoved a Richmond player. Also receiving cards for the Bonnies were sophomores Scott Howard and Dan Mitchell for their conduct during the fight. Lincoln, a midfielder from Hingham, Mass., received one for the Spiders for the same reason.

"One kid knocked our kid to the ground," said Richmond coach Jeff Gettler. "Their coach had been egging them on the whole game with his cursing, and their kids got excited. It leaves a bad taste in our mouths."

The entire second half was played with that sort of intensity -- four other cards were issued that half, three of which came before the scuffle.

Richmond players Pierre, Loesser and sophomore Cass Meadows received cards for various fouls. Saint Bonaventure sophomore Fabrizio Savarino got the final yellow card of the night during the 81st minute for yelling at the referee. In total, seven yellow cards and one red card were handed out.

Lincoln had an opportunity to score within the first few minutes of the game after he took a header off a corner kick. But the ball sailed inches over the top of the crossbar.

The four Richmond seniors play their final collegiate game on at 1 p.m. Sunday when they host Duquesne University.

"It is important that we came back with a good performance and finish on a high note for the seniors," Gettler said. "We want to give the seniors something positive to go out on."

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu