The New Haven men’s soccer team fell short again on Wednesday afternoon at Kathy Zolad Stadium with their 5-3 loss to the Southern Connecticut State Owls. The Chargers found themselves down early in the game and looked to make a comeback, cutting the deficit to one. It would not be enough, however, as SCSU was able to get back their lead and keep New Haven from attaining their first win of the season.

The early stages of the game were dominated by Southern Connecticut, who maintained control of the ball for a majority of the first half with ten shots. The Owls struck first in the 12th minute with the first of three goals from midfielder Yannick Hilpert.

They kept consistent pressure on New Haven, forcing Chargers goalkeeper Ryan Lunn to make some difficult saves, totaling eight for the game.

New Haven could not get the ball out of their defensive end, setting the Owls up with continuous chances to score. Hilpert connected for his second goal of the match in the 28th minute, beating Lunn in the high center of the goal. This gave them a 2-0 lead, which would stand until the end of the first half.

The Chargers were able to get on the board with a strange goal from midfielder Adam Lindstrom, which looked to be a save by Southern at first, but after a conversation between the referees it was concluded that the ball crossed the line to cut the deficit down to one.

Southern struck again to bring their lead back up to two after Hilpert’s third goal of the game, completing the hat trick. Hilpert was able to finish it off after two straight saves from Lunn, sneaking the ball past him in the center of the goal.

Lindstrom connected for his second goal of the game on a beautiful cross pass from forward Alexander Gunnarsson to make it a 3-2 game. New Haven had a much stronger second half, controlling the ball and putting pressure on Southern.

In the 74th minute, New Haven’s defensive troubles got to them again, registering an own goal to give the Owls a 4-2 lead with not much time left to mount a comeback.

They would cut their deficit back down to one, however, on defender Sean Lane-Turnbull’s first goal of the season and first career goal as a Charger. With 15 minutes left to play, it looked like New Haven would finally have an opportunity to tie the game or take the lead, but they were unable to capitalize on any of their remaining chances.

Southern tacked on another goal in the 81st minute from forward Leroy Best to bring the score to 5-3. They were able to make this lead stand until the end, handing New Haven yet another loss.

New Haven now finds themselves at 0-7-4 (0-4-3 NE10) on the season. Their quest for their first win will stay at home for their next matchup with Bentley University on Oct. 15. The game will take place at Kathy Zolad Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. as the Chargers look to put an end to their losing streak. More information can be found at NewHavenChargers.com.