The Elizabethtown College men’s soccer team (1-4-2) failed to score a goal for the fourth straight game and fell to the Misericordia University Cougars (5-2) 2-0 on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The team travelled to Misericordia University on Sunday to play the Cougars in a game that was originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 but was postponed for 24 hours. The Blue Jays went into the game with a record of 1-3-2, facing Misericordia’s 4-2 record. Etown looked to end their winless streak at four games, while Misericordia looked to rebound from their 1-0 loss to the University of Scranton, a team that Etown fought to a 2-2 draw in their first game of this season.

Etown junior goalkeeper Justin Signora started in goal for the Blue Jays, making his third start of the season. He managed eight saves on 21 shots, bringing his total to 16 saves this season.

First-year forward Jeff Light recorded his first shot of the season and followed it up with five more, three on frame, but was unable to get one past Cougars goalkeeper Barry Fitzgerald, who recorded his fourth shutout of the season. Etown junior David Boretti also had six shots, three on target. The Blue Jays had a season-high of 26 shots.

The Cougars got on the board in the sixteenth minute when junior Rob Wiacek converted a header goal off of a corner kick from senior Dennis Halpin. Early in the second half, Misericordia added an insurance goal on another header, this time by junior Nick von Egypt, who scored his second goal on 24 shots this season, from a pass by senior David Stoner.

The Blue Jays have never beaten the Cougars. Etown has lost all three meetings between the two schools in 2011, 2012 and now 2013. Misericordia has won the Middle Atlantic Conferences’ Freedom Conference the past two years. They currently have the third best record in the Freedom Conference. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, have the worst record in the MAC Commonwealth Conference, having won only one game so far this season, but the Blue Jays have had a tough early schedule. They have faced three nationally-ranked teams in the first seven games and held their own in all three. They forced two games to draws and lost only one of the three.

Last Wednesday, Sept. 18, Etown lost to Neumann University 1-0. The Blue Jays controlled the game in every way, except in goals. Etown outshot the Knights 23-9 and had seven corner kicks to Neumann’s three. The Blue Jays were unable to find the back of the net and Knights goalkeeper Alex Lacko recorded his third clean sheet of the season. Neumann midfielder Mike Atallian scored in the twenty-second minute and, despite multiple attempts at goal, including a thirty yard blast from junior forward Dylan Sisler that rattled the crossbar, the Blue Jays ultimately continued to struggle to get themselves on the scoresheet.

However, the Blue Jays were able to put an end to their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Susquehanna University during their home game yesterday, Sept. 25.

First-year Brent Batory scored the team’s first goal of the game, which was followed by Boretti’s first two goals of the season.

The team will play Wilkes  University,  their final non-conference opponent, on Sept. 28 at 3:30p.m. before hosting their first conference matchup against Albright College next Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7p.m.