Box Score
The Brian Stock era got off to a rough start Tuesday night as the Malone men's soccer team dropped a tightly contested match 2-1 at Cedarville University in their season opener.

The Pioneers and Yellow Jackets battled neck and neck all night with neither team being able to establish much momentum.

Cedarville opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when Jon Earl's long cross attempt managed to skip past a barrage of players in the box including Pioneer goalkeeper Felipe Monteiro.

Malone would regroup at half and net the equalizer in the 63rd minute when junior Felipe Delgado buried a low, driven cross from junior Kelvin Aquino.

Their jubilation was short-lived, however. Cedarville regained the lead just two minutes later when Timmy Waller's strike from the top of the box found the top corner, leaving Monteiro helpless.

Malone showed strong character in their attempt to bring the game level for a second time. Delgado looked poised for a second goal in the 66th minute but his shot was denied by the post. The Pioneers continued to threaten the Yellow Jackets goal but goalkeeper Ethan Dewhurst and his defense did just enough to preserve the victory.

Despite the loss, coach Stock took away many positives from his side's first game.

“Tonight was a great match,” said Stock. “I felt our team was well prepared and came with a lot of energy. Cedarville is a very good team and they played with great tempo and moved the ball very well. In saying that, we had a lot of good chances all the way to the end but it just didn't work out for us. Now we will turn our attention to Walsh and look to open GLIAC play on a winning note."

Delgado led Malone with four shots on the evening, while his counterpart, Aquino, attempted three of his own. Monteiro was solid in goal registering four saves. The Yellow Jackets outshot the Pioneers 11-10 for the game but Malone held the advantage in the second half by a count of 6-3. Corner kicks were 4-2 in Cedarville's favor. The Pioneers will look to get Stock his first win in their next match, Sept. 8th, at home against Walsh University.