Lack of offense has hurt both Whitman teams in the Old Colony Men’s Soccer League this summer, and it caught up with both teams on Monday when they faced the iron of the league.

Whitman United dropped a 5-0 game to defending champions Brockton United at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School while third-place Shoe City shut out Whitman FC 2-0 at the Baker Elementary School in Brockton.

Brockton United’s speed overwhelmed the Whitman defense and midfield in the first half, but they struggled with their accuracy as Blues keeper Jack Murray only had to make four saves on Brockton’s first 11 shots of the game. However, Whitman could not generate a shot of their own, which allowed Brockton to stay on the offensive and finally break through off a corner kick in the 32nd minute.

The goal opened up the floodgates for Brockton, who added another goal on a two-on-one break on net minutes later. Brockton’s counter attack continued to find success as they scored on a drive from 30 yards out off a Whitman turnover with three minutes to play in the half and added one more before the whistle.

Brockton added one more in the second half as they coasted to the win and dropped the Blues into a tie with Rockland FC with 12 points, though the Blues currently sit atop Rockland in the standings due to a better goal differential.

While the Blues have their destiny in their own hands with one game to go on the schedule, Whitman FC’s loss to Shoe City puts them in a tough spot. FC is one point behind Easton United for the final playoff spot and play their final game of the season against second place Boxer FC.

Whitman FC had some bad luck against Shoe City when a fluke goal in the first half put the White Stripes in a 1-0 hole. A Shoe City corner kick struck the heel of one of their forwards and floated over the head of Whitman keeper Jay Vancura for a goal.

Vancura made four saves on shots inside the box in the second half to keep Whitman within striking distance, but the Stripes could not find their range. Jonathan Hatfield, Sam Mainini, Tim Graves and Sean Szchesney all missed wide on scoring chances in the second half.

“Our problem most of the year has been putting the ball in the net,” coach Jack Hatfield said. “We had good opportunities tonight, but we just couldn’t finish. It seemed like we needed that one more pass.”

The numbers game eventually caught up to FC in the final minutes. Whitman had just one sub for the game and was playing without most of their starting defense, but held their own until a Shoe City forward broke free along the right sideline and fired a cross in front of the net that another forward was able to finish, giving Shoe City a 2-0 lead.

“They had 18 guys and we had 12, and I think that was the difference tonight,” Hatfield said. “We played a great defensive game up until the last two minutes. We were short some defensive people, and John Scabilia filled in and did a great job. We just ran out of gas.”

Whitman FC can get some help from Whitman United, who plays Easton at Whitman-Hanson on Thursday, but they also need a win over Boxer FC, which is a daunting task  as Boxer is second in the league with 38 goals scored to 11 goals allowed this season.