CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's soccer team dropped a match on Wednesday afternoon 1-0 to the Thomas More University Saints. The Pioneers fall to 3-3-1 on the season and 0-3-1 inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) while the Saints win their fourth match in a row at 4-5-0 and 4-1-0 in the conference.
 
One of the best looks for Malone came early on when Matthew Garrett got a head on the ball off a corner kick, but the opportunity missed wide. In the 37th minute, the Pioneers had another flurry of shot attempts. Nate Werthmuller put one on frame and then missed one wide in the 38th minute. Tha Lwe had a shot on goal as well a few moments later, but the scoreboard remained at 0-0.
 
Thomas More nearly put one past the goalkeeper in the 40th minute, but it hit the crossbar and stayed outside. At the break, the teams remained deadlocked. Each team took six shots in the opening period.
 
In the 50th minute, the Saints were able to find the back of the net off of a free kick attempt that was failed to be cleared by the defensive unit of the Pioneers. A shot from just outside the 18-yard box was true to go up 1-0.
 
In the 54th minute, Fraeday Moo fired a shot passed the keeper, but a backline defender was in position to make the crucial save to retain the lead. From there, Thomas More was able to turn it on defensively and prevent Malone from getting a solid look towards the end of the match.
 
The Saints outshot the Pioneers 12-10, but each team recorded four shots on goal. Gavyn Ernst (3-3-1) made three saves in total. Braden Lamb played all 90 minutes on the pitch.
 
The next match for Malone will be at home against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday, October 5 as a part of the 2024 Homecoming & Family Weekend. Kick-off for the men is at 1:00 P.M. followed by the women versus Ohio Dominican University at 4:00 P.M.