It was a busy day for NYU soccer on Saturday at the Violets’ home field of Gaelic Park, as both teams faced off against Carnegie Mellon University in their first home league games of the season.

The day began with the NYU women battling the Tartans throughout the entire game, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat. Both teams fought through the first half on a cold and rainy day in Riverdale without finding the back of the net. The intensity increased dramatically in the second half as the rain slowed. The Tartans struck first in the 51st minute with a powerful strike from outside the box by Haili Adams, which was nearly saved by the fingertips of Violet senior goalkeeper Cassie Steinberg. Steinberg helped limit the damage with six big saves in the second half alone.

The Violets created many good chances in the second half, but couldn’t equalize before time expired. NYU was led by freshman forward Alex Benedict, who had three shots on goal.

The defeat moves the Violets record to 7-2-2 on the season and 0-1-1 in UAA play.

Later that Saturday, the NYU men’s team couldn’t overcome the wet weather and physical play, suffering their first loss of the UAA season.

The teams played a contested first half with both teams recording numerous shots on goal. NYU’s two best chances came in the final five minutes of the half from junior midfielder Tristan Medios-Simon cutting into the box from the left wing. The second half began poorly for the Violets, who were demoralized when the Tartans struck first in the 56th minute off of a sloppy sequence in the box. Unfortunately, Carnegie Mellon’s Zack Masciopinto finished off two more chances in the next five minutes suddenly putting NYU’s men in a 3-0 hole just fifteen minutes into the half. The Violets were able to create chances in the final 30 minutes but were unable to score, and suffered one final setback as senior Deniz Oncu was handed a controversial red card in the 89th minute.

Freshman Owen Smith and senior captain Petter Aasa led the way for the Violets combining for five shots on goal. The Violets now sit at 4-4-2 overall and 1-1 in UAA play.

After the defeat, Nicolas Notaro was in low spirits.

“This game was a really tough pill to swallow,” Notaro said. “A really great opportunity slipped through our grasp because of a poor 10-minute stint. We let the chippy environment on and off the field get to us a bit, which worked in their favor.” However the junior forward was happy with the support from Violets fans, “We had a great loyal following out there and it would be great to see more of that at the rest of our home matches.”

Late Sunday, the NYU men traveled Randall’s Island to take on inter-city rival Baruch College. Medios-Simon opened the scoring just six minutes into the match. Unfortunately, Baruch was able to answer just 15 minutes later. Defender Richie Cornell broke the draw in the 24th minute off a pass from Medios-Simon and the Violets took control. Two Violet goals from Notaro and sophomore Ricardo Mitrano gave the Violets a 4-1 lead. Two more late goals from sophomore midfielder David Victor sealed the 6-1 victory for the Violets. NYU outshot Baruch 23-10 including 12 shots on goal. The Violets look to build off this momentum as they travel to the Midwest this weekend.

Both teams look to get back on track as they resume UAA play in the Midwest next weekend, traveling to St. Louis to face off with Washington University on Friday night. The Violets will then travel to Chicago to take on the Maroons on Sunday, Oct. 16.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 11 print edition. Email Ben Goodkin at [email protected].