The Elizabethtown men’s soccer team kept their winning streak going after winning both of their games this week. Both games are road victories for the Jays. They have scored in the first 10 minutes every game so far this season and that did not stop on Wednesday. Gilbert Waso recorded his first goal for the game at Wilkes in those starting minutes. For the next 90 minutes they played intense defense and did not let a single shot near the goal. The final whistle blew and the scoreboard read Blue Jays 3, Wilkes 0. Waso finished his second straight game with multiple goals and E-town moved to a 4-0 record for the season.
Junior Jeff Light said, “In both games we possessed the ball really well and created a lot of goal scoring opportunities. Teams are starting to play more defensive against us and it was good to see that we are still able to create chances and score goals.”
In the 35th minute, Brent Batory sent a long chip from midfield, Light was able to connect with it to head it in, giving E-town a 3-0 lead. This was Light’s second goal for the season and it gave the Jays a padded lead heading into the second half.
The Blue Jays goalie, Rodrigo Barrera, only had to stop three shots from Wilkes in the first 65:47 before being subbed out by Ryan Sandell, who had one stop in his first time in play this season.
The Blue Jays outshot Wilkes 15-10, with Light registering five and Waso adding four to the total. The lead the Jays created allowed for some of their reserves to get in on the action and some of the freshmen made their collegiate debuts.
Senior defender Jack Rudy said, “The team’s mindset going into the Wilkes game was that, historically, they are a tough opponent when we play at their field. Also, we knew that we could not underestimate them, given our record and continued success at this point in the season. Despite these careful approaches, we were confident in our ability to win.”
E-town extended their winning streak to five after their game against Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday, winning 2-0.
Barrera made one save during the contest, making it his second shutout of the season. Gwynedd Mercy is the first team to not allow a goal by E-town in the first 10 minutes of play. However, Light was able to find Martin Fevre for his first goal of the season and the last shot of the half. The Blue Jays outshot the Griffins 23-1.
Rudy added, “Heading into the Gwenedd Mercy game, we had a very similar mindset that we had for Wilkes: don’t underestimate, don’t get cocky, play hard, stay focused, play our game and don’t bring our level of play down to their style.”
Waso added another goal to the scoreboard shortly into the second half, making it his sixth goal for the season. He has scored a goal in the past four games and has recorded a point in every game so far this season.
Light said, “Even though we lost 13 seniors last year, our team’s biggest strength is our depth. We also have great leadership in our 5 seniors and they’ve kept the team focused on getting better everyday.”
This was the 490th win under head coach, Skip Roderick’s belt, putting him only 10 shy of 500. The Elizabethtown men’s soccer team will look to keep their winning streak alive when they hit the road again for a 7pm start time at Franklin & Marshall where they will be competing for the Smith-Herr Boot.
When asked what else the fans should know, Rudy answered, “7pm, Wednesday, September 30th. Ira R. Herr Field. Vs. Messiah. See you there.”
