The Elizabethtown College men’s soccer team took on the Juniata College Eagles in a Landmark Conference matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at home. The Blue Jays looked to find a win and put themselves in a better position within the conference standings after three straight ties leading up to this game. The Eagles had recently defeated Wilkes in a Landmark Conference matchup in a 1-0 shutout. Junior goalkeeper Maxwell Mattioni, who came into the game with six shutouts in 11 games, hoped to continue his streak of three in a row and lead the Eagles to another victory.
Juniata started the game off hot, finding multiple chances early and keeping the Etown defense busy. The Eagles had a few shots on goal, but senior goalkeeper Pedro Miranda, who returned from a three-game injury spell, kept the goal well defended. Juniata struck first, as junior defender Jace Colino netted the goal. Sophomore midfielder Beckett Young made the throw-in from the sideline to junior forward Jalen Holiday, who crossed it in to Colino to give the Eagles an early advantage in the first half.
Etown tried to find some opportunities in the first half, but they were denied by heavy defensive pressure put on by Juniata. Open play stayed around the center half as the two sides traded back and forth possession from defensive backs to defensive backs. Senior midfielder Jude Ashley battled with Holiday on the sidelines, where he committed a foul and was booked for a yellow card with around 15 minutes left in the half. Etown couldn’t find many opportunities, only netting a total of three shots in the first half, versus the eight shots that Juniata had.
Etown had made some key halftime adjustments and looked to find more attacking opportunities in the second half, as they came back with three shots in the first 10 minutes. One of those shots erased the lead that Juniata had at the beginning of the half, as the ball bounced around the box and was attempted to be cleared by the Eagles defense. The ball went just outside the box where first-year defender Shea Sporer pushed up from his defensive position to bury the shot into the right side netting, just missing the post, giving Etown a goal, and tying the game at 1-1.
Juniata went right back on the attack after the goal , attempting to find one more chance to try and get the lead back. Etown had attempted a few more offensive efforts, however, they eventually retreated to defend the multiple counter-attacks that the Eagles had attempted right before the end of the game. Despite their efforts, the Blue Jay defense held on, finishing with a final score of 1-1.
Sporer scored the only goal for Etown, with it being his first ever for the blue and white side, and the goal was tallied as being unassisted. Miranda had four saves in his return from injury, holding the heavy attacking side of Juniata to only one goal early on. Juniata had eight corner kicks compared to Etown’s zero, showing the offensive pressure that the Eagles had applied throughout the entire game. The Blue Jays moved to 3-5-4 on the season after the draw. Etown will play their next matchup against Drew University in a Landmark Conference matchup at home on Oct. 21.
