The Elizabethtown College men’s soccer team faced another challenging Landmark Conference opponent on Wednesday, Oct. 14, taking on the undefeated Catholic University Cardinals at Ira R. Herr Field. Despite taking the lead late in the second half, the Blue Jays were unable to hold off the Cardinals.
Catholic entered the contest with an undefeated record of 9-0-3, presenting another difficult challenge for the Blue Jays. However, Etown wasted little time establishing an offensive presence.
When asked what the plan was for the match, Junior Will Withall said “ to believe in ourselves and trust our system and how we trained.”
In just the second minute, Freshman Carlos Salazar attempted the Blue Jays’ first shot of the contest, earning Etown an early corner kick.
Catholic responded shortly afterward when Christian Backich fired a shot toward the bottom-right corner of the net in the eighth minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Logan Sumner made the save, keeping the game even.
Etown nearly broke through in the ninth minute when Owen Auchenbach fired a shot that struck the right goalpost, narrowly missing an opportunity to give the Blue Jays an early lead.
The Blue Jays continued to challenge Catholic’s defense throughout the first half. Salazar attempted another shot in the 18th minute, but his attempt sailed over the crossbar. Declan Casey created another opportunity in the 28th minute, but his shot traveled wide of the net.
Catholic attempted to respond with several offensive opportunities of its own. In the 41st minute, Hamin Oladokun fired a shot toward the bottom center of the net, but the Blue Jays’ defense managed to keep it from landing.
The second half began with Catholic increasing its offensive pressure. In the 53rd minute, Seth Michalak fired a shot toward the bottom center of the net, forcing Sumner to make another save.
Etown attempted to regain control of the match, and in the 67th minute, the Blue Jays finally broke through Catholic’s defense.
Junior Caba Alvarez found the back of the net following excellent passes from Junior Manny Velazquez and Sophomore Drew Stark, giving Elizabethtown a 1-0 advantage. The goal marked Alvarez’s fifth of the season and gave the Blue Jays a chance to hand Catholic its first defeat.
The Cardinals responded quickly. Catholic found its equalizer in the 75th minute when Graham Leary scored his first goal of the season off an assist from Backich, tying the contest at 1-1.
Following the equalizer, both teams continued battling for an opportunity to secure the victory.
With less than two minutes remaining, Auchenbach created one final scoring opportunity for Etown. His shot struck the left goalpost in the 89th minute, narrowly missing what could have been the game-winning goal.
“Drawing to Catholic is no easy task,” Withall said. “While we wanted to win, it is a huge step forward for us in the right direction.”
The draw moves Elizabethtown to 5-4-5 overall and 1-1-3 in Landmark Conference play, and they will be playing Lycoming on Saturday, Oct. 17.
