After a tie against Stevenson University last week, the Elizabethtown College women’s soccer team settled for another tie against the Lebanon Valley College Flying Dutchmen at the Homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. This is the Blue Jays’ fifth tie of the season, setting a school record for draws in a single season.
As playoffs are just around the corner, every team in second through sixth place in the Commonwealth Conference women’s soccer standings is at the top of their game. Every game is of great importance because the difference between being in or out of the playoffs is just two points. Sophomore defender Danielle Bond said, “Playing our best and winning this game and the next two are very important to us.”
Messiah College, who defeated the Blue Jays earlier this month, gave them their only loss in the conference and is in first place in the standings, while Etown is one spot behind, tied for second.
The Jays were really looking for another win on Saturday to add to their now 8-3-5, 4-1-2 CC record and practiced to achieve this. First-year forward Eryn Henderson said, “At practice we have been working very hard, especially on perfecting our touches and working on restarts. It was difficult at first with having so many freshmen on the team because we didn’t know each other, but now we are all working together.”
There was a large turnout at Ira R. Herr Field to support the Blue Jays during their Homecoming game. The game was evenly matched, with multiple shots taken from each side. In total, there were 42 shots taken on goal, with senior Etown goalie Jess Manchak having eight saves and LVC goalie Sami Young having seven. However, a strong defense on both sides and the hard work of the goalkeepers left the first half of the game scoreless.
The second half began with both sides determined to score the first goal. The Blue Jays were the first to score in the 65th minute of the game. The goal was scored by first-year Kaceyanne Cerankowski with an assist from senior Laura Wingert. The goal was scored after Wingert passed to Cerankowski, who sent a great shot through the gloves of the LVC goalie. This is Cerankowski’s fourth goal in the last four games. Cerankowski was also recently named Commonwealth Conference Offensive Player of the Week. This goal is her fifth of the season.
The Blue Jays only had a short time to celebrate their 1-0 lead. Only minutes after Etown’s goal, the Flying Dutchmen retaliated and scored LVC’s first goal. Manchak was able to save the first shot but could not recover in time to block the next shot. The Blue Jays did not want another tie and were determined to get another goal, taking more shots on the net. The Blue Jays had the chance to score during a corner kick taken by first-year Trisha Clark, but came up empty-handed.
The game went into two overtime periods and the Blue Jays pushed hard to win. They took a total of seven shots on LVC’s goalkeeper but neither the Blue Jays nor the Flying Dutchmen could come up with a goal, ending the game at 1-1.
Etown’s last home game of the season was against Lycoming College. Bond said, “Our goal is to win so we can make the playoffs and the conference championships to see Messiah again.” Wednesday will also be Senior Day for five players on the team: Manchak, Amy Bunting, Wingert, Rebekah Richards and Jess Mason.
Etown brought home a 5-0 win for their seniors against Lycoming.