The men’s soccer team (2-1, 0-0 Ivy League) claimed a narrow 1-0 win against Saint Peter’s University (2-2-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) this past Sunday. The victory moved them to No. 2 in the Ivy League, with four games left before the start of Ivy League play.
The Bears came into Sunday off a narrow road loss to the University of Connecticut (3-3-1, 0-0 Big East Conference) and a season-opening home victory over the University of New Haven (1-4, 0-0 Northeast Conference).
Throughout the first half of play against New Haven, Bruno controlled much of the action. But despite their defensive dominance, the Bears were unable to find the back of the net, and the two teams entered halftime scoreless.
The deadlock finally broke in the 52nd minute. Brown midfielder Ethan Rabel ’30 dribbled his way around the New Haven defense before finding Marshall Treese ’29, who sent a cross into the box. Waiting at the pass’s other end was Sawyer Turiace ’29, who completed the play to score Brown’s first goal of the season and give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Brown doubled its lead with just seven minutes remaining in the match. Carter Smith ’27 launched a long pass up the field to standout forward Lorenzo Amaral ’27, who found himself in front of the net to tuck away the finish and cement Bruno’s 2-0 opening-night victory.
The Bears then traveled to Connecticut for a matchup against UConn, where Brown struck first once again.
In the 16th minute, Smith sent a long ball upfield to Sergio Canos Seneci ’28, who played the ball toward the top of the box, where James Snaith ’28 was lying in wait. The 2025 First Team All-Ivy selection fired a shot from distance into the net to score his first goal since the 2024 season.
Bruno carried its 1-0 advantage into halftime and held onto the lead for much of the second half. But in the 71st minute, the Huskies finally found their equalizer to bring the game level at 1-1.
With about five minutes remaining, the contest took a dramatic turn. Following a video assistant referee check, Canos Seneci and a UConn player were both ejected, and the Huskies were awarded a penalty kick. UConn converted from the spot to take a late 2-1 advantage, handing Brown its first loss of the season.
“We had our hearts ripped out on Thursday night on some very questionable refereeing decisions,” Head Coach Chase Wileman wrote in an email to The Herald. “What an excellent life lesson that you can’t put your head down; you have to get up and go again.”
Looking to heed Wileman’s words and bounce back, the Bears returned home to face Saint Peter’s this past Sunday.
Graham Kois ’28 made his first start in goal for Brown and was tested early. In the 10th minute, Saint Peter’s fired a low shot from long range, but Kois swiftly crouched to make the save. He finished his debut showing with a clean sheet, a feat that “means the world” to him, Kois wrote in an email to The Herald.
On the other end of the pitch, Brown created the majority of the first-half opportunities. Bruno outshot the Peacocks 6-3, with Amaral accounting for five of Brown’s attempts. But neither team could break through their opponent’s defense before halftime.
One of Brown’s best opportunities came in the 69th minute. Zion Wharton ’27 dribbled into the open space between two defenders and threaded a pass through another pair of Peacocks to Mateo Pereyra ’29. The Bears’ 2025 scoring leader cut inside and curled a shot toward the goal, but Saint Peter’s goalkeeper Sebastian Heredia-Randen made an impressive save to keep the game scoreless.
On the ensuing corner, Brown nearly struck again. The ball was lofted toward the edge of the box, where Alex Sauerbrei ’30 headed it toward Snaith. With his body facing away from goal, Snaith managed a difficult half-volley attempt, but Heredia-Randen dove to make another dramatic save.
At the 85th minute, the game remained in a stalemate. But just when a scoreless draw seemed inevitable, the Bears finally pierced the Peacock’s defense on a chaotic sequence in front of the goal.
Snaith lifted the ball toward Sauerbrei, who beat Heredia-Randen to the ball and centered it across the box. Carlo Brown ’27 initially whiffed on his shot, but Amaral was lying in wait behind him and calmly slotted the ball into the net to give Brown a late 1-0 advantage.
“It is hard to win games at this level, and it was a tight game in general, so scoring a late winner is excellent momentum for the team,” Wileman wrote.
The Bears almost doubled their lead two minutes later. Mathias Hille ’27 collected the ball in Brown’s defensive half and carried it all the way to the Saint Peter’s box, skipping past defenders and dropping a Peacock to the turf along the way. Hille looked for a shot opportunity but could not create enough space to put the ball on net.
The Peacocks threw numbers forward in search of an equalizer in the final minutes, leaving their defense exposed. With seconds remaining, Carlo Brown raced forward and sent a shot past the goalkeeper toward the bottom-right corner of the net. But time expired before the ball crossed the goal line, and the scoreboard remained unchanged.
“Even though it wasn’t the prettiest game, getting the three points was really big, so we’re very excited about it,” Smith said.
Looking ahead, the Bears will play Stonehill College (2-1-2, 0-0 Northeast Conference) at home at 7 p.m. on Friday.
“We just have to stick to our process, keep working every day, and focus on what we can control,” Wileman wrote.
Harry Guo is a senior staff writer and on the vertical video and design teams. He is from Andover, Massachusetts, and plans on concentrating in Business Economics and International and Public Affairs. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry and playing poker.
