Cardinals Edge Out Gophers with 54th Minute Strike

TOWSON, Md. — For Goucher's second straight Landmark match, there was only one goal to be found over 90 minutes of play.

Unfortunately for the Gophers, it was once again their opponent who was able to find that goal, as a 54th minute strike lifted Catholic to a 1-0 decision at Beldon Field this evening.

Tyler Zimmerman scored the game-winner for the Cardinals (6-5-1, 3-1 Landmark), directing a shot into the lower right corner after a cross from Jon Paciorek.

Goucher (5-5, 1-2 Landmark) had a trio of outstanding chances to level the match with eight minutes remaining. Dustin Taylor (New York, N.Y./Riverdale Country School) fired an initial effort which was stopped by a diving Torsten Meuschke in goal. Taylor's rebound went straight out to Jeremy Hardy (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Beacon School), who had a first shot blocked. He then had a second attempt which got past Meuschke but was cleared away by a Catholic defender before crossing the line.

That turned out to be the last of nine shots during the match for the Gophers, compared to 11 for the Cardinals in an evenly played affair.

"This was a tough loss," head coach Bryan Laut said. "We did a good job of limiting a very talented Catholic team's chances and created some great looks of our own. Unfortunately, they found a way to make a play and we didn't. It's tough to take, but I am confident that we will regroup and find a way to achieve our goals."

Both teams had chances to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes. The best opportunity for Catholic came in the ninth minute, but Goucher goalie Nicholas Stolarz (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) got just enough of a touch on a hard shot from Ben Fleri to redirect it off the post and back into play. Nate Margolis (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North), meanwhile, forced Meuschke to make two saves before the midway point of the half.

Zimmerman's goal was the first shot for either team after the intermission, and there would not be another attempt until Hardy put an effort wide in the 79th minute of play.

Meuschke finished with four saves to register his third shutout of 2014. Stolarz added five saves for the Gophers, who have now allowed one goal or less in eight of 10 matches this season.

Goucher will look to get back to .500 in conference play with a 1 p.m. trip to Scranton this Saturday. The Royals (9-2-1, 3-0 Landmark) edged out Drew 1-0 this evening, and are the only team yet to lose a conference match.