Elizabethtown College took on Juniata College in a Landmark Conference women’s soccer matchup on the road this past Tuesday, Oct. 7. Etown had been in good form recently, coming off of three straight victories against DeSales University, Wilkes University and Susquehanna University. The two against Wilkes and Susquehanna were key Landmark wins. It has also been more than a month since the Blue Jays had last lost, being 3-0-4 since their senior day against Lebanon Valley College on Sept. 6.
Juniata had also been in good form heading into the matchup, with their last loss being on Sept. 3 versus Dickinson College and holding a record of 3-0-4 since. Their last two Landmark games were both 1-1 ties against Moravian University and Wilkes, giving them more of a reason to gain a few spots in conference standings and take down Etown in the process.
The Blue Jays attempted to get on the board early, as the Eagles had conceded a corner in the first three minutes, resulting in senior defender Olivia Herbert crossing the ball in for a potential opportunity. Juniata defended well, but sophomore goalkeeper Emma Stiller had saved a couple of shots in the opening 20 minutes of the half.
Stiller ended the half with three saves, however, both Etown and Juniata were close in terms of shots, with Etown having five compared to the Eagles’s four. Juniata and the Blue Jays were playing very aggressive, trying to find as many opportunities as they could, with both sides committing eight fouls in total over the course of the first half.
Out of the half, the Blue Jays rocketed out of the gates, as junior forward Skylar Mumford burst onto the scene with a goal within the first 30 seconds of the second half, giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. Etown continued to apply pressure, netting a total of eight shots in the second half, and defended well against Juniata, intercepting many passes and only allowing one shot in 45 minutes. The Eagles tried to find a few last chance efforts, however, Etown held on comfortably, ending the game with a score of 1-0 and extending their win streak to four games.
Mumford scored the lone goal in the contest, netting four shots in total including two shots on goal. Senior midfielder Molly Kleinert added one shot on goal in her two shots and senior midfielder Jenna Hoffman contributed another two shots. First-year forwards Grace Tessier and Sophia Hogan both contributed one shot on goal. First-year goalkeeper Ella Smith netted a shutout in the game and had one save throughout the 90 minutes. The Blue Jays moved to 5-2-4 overall, sporting a 3-0-0 Landmark Conference record.
Etown will play their next home match on Oct. 28 against Moravian for their final regular season matchup before the conference playoffs begin in November.
