Hanna scores, but Grizzlies fall 4-1

Adams State plays to second half draw after allowing three Mesa State gaols in first half

Freshman Hawken Hanna tallied his first career goal and the first of the season for the Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon against Mesa State.

Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo. – Freshman Hawken Hanna (Haslett, Mich.) connected on a strike from 30 yards out for the Grizzlies first goal of the season and the first of his young career, but it wasn’t enough as the Adams State men’s soccer team fell to Mesa State in a non-conference match at Murphy Field on Sunday afternoon, 4-1.

Adams State played its way to 2-2 tie the last time the two squads met, in Grand Junction, Colo. on August 27, 2009, the inaugural match for the Grizzlies’ men’s soccer program.

Just over 10 minutes into the second half Sunday afternoon, with the Grizzlies trailing 3-0, Hanna took control of the ball well outside of the box and put a well-placed ball just out of reach above Mavericks keeper Billy Martinez.

Whatever momentum ASC gained back on account of Hanna’s left foot was short-lived, however, as Mesa State’s Danny Molineaux answered back one minute, 57 seconds later, putting a shot just to the left of the Grizzlies’ rookie keeper, Paul Pizza (Alamosa, Colo.), for a 4-1 Mavericks lead.

First-year head coach Tim Busen’s Grizzly squad displayed a noticeable improvement on defense from the first half to the second. Mesa State controlled the match offensively in the opening stanza, firing 12 shots and putting seven on goal. Four Mavericks, including Steve Shaw, Alex Mattevi, Ben Medina and Reese Kegans took two shots in the first half. Adams State only managed to get off three shots in the first half, but managed to put two of them on goal.

Mesa State struck quickly, finding the back of the net just 2:43 into the match when Shaw beat the Grizzlies defense on the dribble, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. Shaw scored a helper on the Mavericks next goal. Mattevi gained possession of a rebound after a shot off Shaw’s foot was saved, but Pizza was unable to control the ball and it was put into the net, giving the Mavericks a 2-0 lead.

The Mavericks put in their third and final goal of the opening period at the 27:29 mark, once again off the foot of Mattevi, his second of the season and of the match.

In the second half, the Grizzly defense tightened up, allowing the Mavericks just eight shots and only one on goal. Pizza ended up with four saves on the afternoon after stopping three Mesa State shots before the break. The rookie keeper faced 20 shots in the match, the eighth most in program history.

Shaw led both teams in shots, taking five of the 20 for the visitors. Freeman would lead the Grizzlies, taking three shots in the game, while freshman Chris Roggow (Evergreen, Colo.) was the only other ASC player with more than one, taking two and putting one on goal. Freshmen Henry Stewart (Las Cruces, N.M.), Xzavier Phare (Denver, Colo.) and Hanna, and junior Joseph Jallow (Oldjeshwaing, Gambia) each recorded one shot in the game.

Busen and the Grizzlies will have another crack at the Mavericks, once again at Murhpy Field, when the teams meet in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match in three weeks on Sunday, September 26 at 1:00 p.m.

The Grizzlies will be in action next on Monday, September 13, travelling to Pueblo, Colo. for a match against Montana State-Billings. The Yellow Jackets played a 1-1 draw with Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz. Saturday in their season-opener despite being outshot 21-6 in the contest. MSU-Billings will have matches against Dixie State (Utah) and Colorado Christian before meeting up with Adams State for the first ever match between the two schools.

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