By Mel Barracato, Staff Writer
ffered their fourth loss of the season this past weekend on Saturday Sept. 16 at Arcadia with a final score of 2–1. This puts the River Hawks at a record of 1–4–1 on the season so far.
Arcadia found the net late in the first half to start the scoring and then again early on in the second half.
“Probably our first break- down defensively as a team led to that first goal,” Coach Jim Findlay said. “We then had to go from a defensive mindset to an offensive mindset. Toward the end of that first half we were able to create some scoring opportunities but just weren’t able to capitalize.”
After Arcadia netted their second goal of the night at the 50-minute mark, Susquehanna answered no more than four minutes later as senior Ryan Cronin took a pass from freshman Jacob Butzler and found the back of the net, trimming Arcadia’s lead to one.
“We created a few more opportunities, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get the second goal,” Findlay said.
The River Hawks led the second half in shots with eight to Arcadia’s five, but were unable to capitalize on any chances. Sophomore goalie Matt Ellingworth had four saves in the loss.
“I give our guys all the credit in the world,” Findlay said. “Their work ethic was excellent and they never gave up, even down to the last two minutes where we were able to get another scoring opportunity.”
Susquehanna also played against non-conference foe Wilkes on Wednesday, but suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 loss in overtime.
The River Hawks had a chance to win the game in regulation with an excellent scoring opportunity with a free kick just outside the box, but it was deflected by a Wilkes player in the wall and the game would go into overtime.
Camry Huff knocked in the game winning goal for Wilkes just two minutes and 21 seconds into the overtime period to give them the win. Tyler Kukosky assisted on the goal.
Susquehanna held the advantage in almost every statistical category, including a massive 11-0 advantage in corner kicks and a shot differential of 17-3. Junior forward Maxwell Reed led the River Hawks in shots with four.
After the loss, Susquehanna’s record drops to 1-5-1 on the season. Although the record shows a rough start, most games for the men’s team have been closer than one would expect, with games being usually decided by one goal.
The River Hawks will begin conference play this Saturday at Catholic. Game time is at 3:30 p.m.
