Elizabethtown College men’s soccer tied for their final game of the season at University of Scranton Saturday, Nov. 1. Not only was this the last game of the season, but it was also the last chance for Etown to make an impression on the new Landmark Conference.

The game started off with two attempts by Scranton to score, the first being a header by Gavin Coutts, the second a shot by Kevin Kozic. Etown responded aggressively but in turn fouled on Scranton twice. Scranton then fouled on Etown giving Kozic a yellow card.

Etown substituted sophomore Brent Batory for senior Eric Borkowicz; a shot was taken by senior Andrew Sandridge but was wide right. Scranton proceeded to substitute three players, putting in A.J. Nardone, Sean Myers and Michael Newell.

With hopes of putting points on the board, junior Shane Votto took a shot on goal but went high. To end the period, Scranton’s Robbie Hartan took one last attempt to score but was blocked by Etown.

The second half started off with a corner kick by Scranton’s Michael Bergen. Five minutes in, a header shot was made by Pat Codispoti that went high. Another corner kick was made by Bergen followed by a shot by Kozic that went wide left. Two more shots were made by Etown, one by junior Martin Fevre, followed by one by senior Kyle Fowler, both shots were saved by Scranton goalkeeper Eric Hintz. Etown kept pushing, giving Fevre another shot on goal that went high.

After being subbed in, Coutts took a shot on goal that went high. Etown retaliated with a header by junior Cal Graziano, that was saved by the team, followed by another shot from Fowler that went wide right.

Starting in the 82nd minute, Etown was giving its all offensively but struggled to finish. First-year Scott Hess fired a shot that was blocked. Etown soon regained possession, and there was a shot by Votto that hit the crossbar, followed by a shot by Boretti, also hit the crossbar. As Etown regained possession, Graziano took a final shot on goal that went wide.

To end the second period, Sandridge took a final shot in order to not go into overtime, but it was saved by Hintz.

As the two teams went into overtime, Scranton’s Tom O’Connor took a header shot that went high, followed by an offsides against Scranton. After a shot by Sandridge that went high, a corner kick by Fowler lead Etown into an opportunity for two shots, one by Sandridge that went wide and one by Hess, saved by Hintz, concluding the third period.

In the fourth and final period, one shot was made by each team in a final chance to secure a victory. A hopeful shot by Fevre went high, and the last chance for Scranton was a shot by Tim DisBisceglie that was saved by Barrera, concluding the match.

“They challenged [Scranton’s] tall players in the air, created quite a few quality opportunities to win the game and never stopped pressing,” Head Coach Skip Roderick said.  “I am very proud of my players work rate and their ability to keep their composer under pressure.”

Roderick reflected on the season saying, “Our season is over, and I feel we are one of the best teams in the league but had to be the most unlucky. We didn’t qualify for the playoffs losing on a tie breaker rule to Goucher.”

All in all it came down to a defensive game between Etown and Scranton, leaving the end of the season at a draw.