The Elizabethtown College men’s soccer team enjoyed a three-game win streak in conference play until falling short to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a 1-0 loss Saturday, Oct. 11 at home. However, the team first enjoyed a 1-0 win at Moravian Saturday, Oct. 4 and a 4-1 victory at Susquehanna University Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Sophomore Jamison MacMain’s first goal as a Blue Jay was enough to ensure a win against Moravian in the 65th minute. MacMain got his head onto a cross from senior Dylan Sisler’s corner kick. Etown received eight corner kicks while Moravian had none.
Throughout the entire game the Blue Jays controlled most of the possession and they didn’t allow a shot on goal. They outshot the Greyhounds 23-5 which was a season-high for the team.
Two early shots could have put the Blue Jays up 2-0, but both were denied. Senior Andrew Sandridge hit a post in the 18th minute and first-year Ryan Somerville hit the crossbar in the 34th minute.
The Blue Jays collected their 53rd win in 55 games against Susquehanna with a 4-1 victory.
Sophomore Brent Batory scored the first half’s only goal when he placed a shot into the upper right side of the net and gave Blue Jays a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute.
Somerville earned his first career goal with less than 10 minutes into the second half when he put a pass from MacMain past Susquehanna goalkeeper Zach Zoller.
The Crusaders answered with a goal of their own from Nick Talabiska in the 73rd; however, shortly after Sisler put the Blue Jays up 3-1 with his first goal of the season.
Somerville finished the scoring for the night in the 83rd minute when he received a pass from MacMain and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one.
Senior goalkeeper Justin Signora made four saves throughout the game, but was sent off with a red card late in the game and had to miss their next match against Merchant Marine.
This win gave Etown nine points in the league standings with a record of 3-1 in the Landmark Conference. At this point they were tied for the top spot with Scranton and Catholic. So far the team feels that they have adjusted to the new conference smoothly and they have been proud of their efforts.
“We have adjusted pretty well to the new conference overall,” senior captain David Boretti said. “There are a lot of solid teams, but coming into this conference has given us a good opportunity to get better.”
The Blue Jays’ win streak came to an end when they suffered a 1-0 lost to Merchant Marine this past Saturday. This was the first time that the two teams met for a game.
United States Merchant Marine Academy took the lead in the 49th minute when Nick Vogel received a pass from Alex Maney on the right-hand side and took a 20-yard shot that went into the bottom left corner of the net. This was Vogel’s second goal of the season.
One of Etown’s best chances came from senior captain Kyle Fowler in the 59th minute. He took a shot directed for the left side of the net and forced Merchant Marine goal keeper Cory Maier to make his best save of the game. Etown earned three corner kicks and a free kick in the final six minutes of play but could not capitalize on the opportunities in the opponent’s territory.
“We did some things right today but I think we simply got outworked,” Fowler said. “We also tried to play it over the top too much instead of combing and linking up.”
The Blue Jays scheduled game last evening against Penn State Berks was postponed early in the day due to impending storms throughout the evening. The make up game is scheduled for this evening at Penn State Berks at 7 p.m.
The Blue Jays are still 3-2 in the Landmark Conference. Etown will host its alumni game on Saturday before hosting Goucher College on Wednesday at home.
“We are going to need to start over Monday and get back together mentally,” Fowler said. “I think what will really help is to watch videos so we can break the game down and see how we can improve.”
