Miami Gardens, FL – The St. Thomas men's soccer team continued its early-season slump Sunday with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at the hands of the Savannah College of Art and Design.  The game began slowly, until the 31^st minute when Luis Campo found the back of the net off a well-placed ball from Thiago Rocha.  However, the Bees answered four minutes later on a controversially-awarded penalty kick scored by Dan Fadida.  The score remained deadlocked into the second half until STU struck again, this time with Rocha creating for himself as he picked up a loose ball and gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. It looked as if the 'Cats defense would hold out for a victory, but back-to-back goals in the 85^th and 87^th minutes by Ellert Hreinsson (the second assisted by Matt Dwyer) gave the visitors from Savannah their first conference win of the season.

The loss was the second straight Sun Conference defeat and the third consecutive loss overall for the Bobcats.  Although all three losses have come by only one goal (including a 1-0 loss to Division II no. 9 ranked Nova Southeastern), there is still a sense of urgency among the team to turn their fortunes around.  The season opened with three straight wins, including a 3-2 defeat of then no. 25 ranked SCAD, but the struggling offense has caught up with the Bobcats as they now sit at .500 for the season and in their division overall. 

As was the case with their earlier loss at Northwood University, the Bobcats got caught up in physical play, and their offensive fluidity suffered.  Overall, STU was whistled for 18 fouls and received 5 yellow cards, while SCAD only received one yellow in addition to their 12 fouls.  The officials let the players play in the final minutes, as a punch to the head by SCAD player Richard Hurlin went uncalled, and the nature of the game allowed for two brief lapses by the STU defense and resulted in the late scores. 

After allowing only the penalty shot in the first half, goalie Aaron Jones was sidelined for the second period by an apparent quad injury.  Shaul Haigel replaced Jones, and was unable to stop two of the five second half shots by the Bees. 

Gabe Renteria again played well for the Bobcats as he attempted four shots and took the majority of the corners for the team.  Thiago Rocha also had an enormous impact on the game and had a hand in both of the Bobcats goals.  

The Bobcats look to stop their skid this Wednesday, September 24^th, at home against Northwood University, and avenge their 2-1 loss in West Palm Beach two weeks ago.