By Akshay Kriplani Staff writer
The Susquehanna men’s soccer team ended its regular season with a 1-1 tie on the road against Moravian on Oct. 29.
Susquehanna finished in fourth place in the Landmark Conference regular season standings, just making the playoffs.
The River Hawks finished the season with an overall record of 6-7-5, going 3-1-3 in conference play. Moravian’s overall record was 8-4-4, and the Greyhounds finished 2-2-3 in conference play.
The game was the third consecutive tie for Susquehanna. The River Hawks had five games this season that ended in a tie.
Both offenses battled against hard defensive fronts for the entirety of the first half. Both defenses looked to impose their will, which made for a physical game.
Susquehanna racked up a total of 16 fouls, while Moravian tallied 15.
A total of three yellow cards were handed out in the game, and Moravian’s team was issued a red card in the 93rd minute.
With both defenses playing hard, neither team was able to find the back of the net for the first 45 minutes.
The second half was a different story, as the defenses could not contain the scoring for much longer.
The Greyhounds scored first in the 82nd minute of the game with a penalty kick goal from junior midfielder Connor Phillips, who has been an offensive force all year for the Greyhounds.
Six minutes later, the River Hawks responded with their own goal when junior forward Elias George scored following a free kick from senior midfielder Jake Heyser.
In the waning minutes of regulation, sophomore Maxwell Reed fired a promising shot, but it sailed just wide, sending the River Hawks into their fifth overtime period in three games.
The first overtime period was filled with frustration from each side. When tensions boiled over in the 93rd minute, the Greyhounds recieved a red card.
After neither team was able to score in the first overtime, the second provided even more frustration to the already exhausted players and coaches.
The Greyhounds outshot the River Hawks 25-11, with eight of their shots coming in overtime. Susquehanna had four corner kicks in the game compared to Moravian’s seven.
Susquehanna freshman goalkeeper Matt Ellingworth had 11 saves, which is a career high, in his 110 minutes of work.
The team’s record of 6-7-5 is not quite the success they had hoped for in 2016, as the team finished their 2015 campaign with a record of 9-7-2.
The River Hawks were led in scoring this season by senior midfielder Nick Fecci, sophomore forward Ryan Cronin and freshman midfielder Max Maidenberg.
Maidenberg, sophomore midfielder Eric Dempsey and Heyser all tied for the team’s assist lead with two assists each.
The River Hawks spread the ball around plenty this season, with nine different players recording assists.
Ellingworth’s work in the goal was enough for him to earn the starting job early in the season.
Since taking over, Ellingworth started 10 games, posting a 5-3-3 record, while recording five shutouts.
The young goalkeeper looked comfortable in the goal all season, and he provided some reassurance to Head Coach Jim Findlay heading into future seasons.
The team earned the fourth seed in the Landmark Conference playoffs.
