On the heels of a 3-0 victory over Webb on Saturday, September 17, the men's soccer team took to the field to play Cooper Union Sunday, September 18, with two key men down. Phillip Naess, who scored a hat trick in the Gryphons' season opener against Medgar Evers on September 12, and Sebastian Hermann (Munich, Germany/Wilhelmsgymnasium), an asset at midfielder, were both out following the hard fought victory on Saturday. 

While the Gryphons lost to Cooper Union 3-1 on the scoresheet, the team played hard despite injuries and “we won that second half,” said Co-Head Coach Hassan Turner.

“We had our shots,” Turner said of 16 shots his team put up against Cooper Union's goalie, many of them in the second half. On the Gryphons' side, goalkeeper Sean Fitzgerald (Louisville, Ky./Brown) had nine saves on the day. 

The Gryphons took a very early lead with Harper Hunt (Paris, Texas/Paris) scoring fast on Cooper Union's goalie, rocketing the ball into the net's far corner off an assist by Ishaan Pujari (Bangalore, India/Inventure Academy). It would be the only goal for the day by the Gryphons, as Cooper Union scored three more times in the first half. Neither team scored in the second.

“The thing I'm looking at here is growth,” Turner said, citing the shutout the team suffered at the hand's of Cooper Union last year, who scored twice as many goals then on the Gryphons. “We played these guys really close,” this year, Turner said, despite the two men down and other injuries.

Turner was proud of his team's performance, stating, “That was a hell of an effort.”

“We're two and one,” Turner said of the team's record this season.

“That's not bad, not bad at all,” he added.

The next game for the Gryphons will be held at home this Tuesday, September 20, against SUNY Purchase.