SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Carthage College men's soccer team dropped a Sunday non-conference match on the road in Minnesota, falling to the University of St. Thomas Tommies, 5-1.
 
The loss drops the Red Men 6-7 on the season, while the Tommies, who are ranked fifth in the United Soccer Coaches North Region, improve to 8-3-1 with the win.
 
"It was a tale of two halves today," said head coach Steve Domin after the loss.  "They took it to us the second half and we couldn't sustain any consistency in that portion of game.  It is really hard to gauge because we settled in nicely the first 35 minutes, had very solid combination plays, and felt like we were in for a good battle with one of Minnesota's best."
 
Carthage opened the scoring early as Freddy Martinez beat the Tommies backline in the opening minutes and volleyed home a loose ball for the opening goal in the sixth minute.
 
The Red Men held the lead for the majority of the first half but the St. Thomas evened the match just over midway through the half and then took the lead in the final moments of the half off a long free kick that was headed home by an unmarked attacker.
 
The second half belonged to the Tommies, as three second half goals opened the game up in favor of St. Thomas, while the Red Men were never able to get a strong offensive push going in the 5-1 defeat.
 
Domin added, "It's no secret we are without a bunch of main pieces, a weak excuse I feel, and progressively lost every part of the field.  We are in a perfect storm right now and haven't felt much of this in our program… I trust the guys will be excited to play a match soon."
 
The Red Men will return to conference play for their next match, as Carthage will travel to North Central College to take on the Cardinals on Wednesday, October 10th at 7:00 p.m.