By Tre Shuttlesworth
Susquehanna’s men’s soccer team tied Elizabethtown 0–0 in their Landmark Conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 22 in Selinsgrove.
While not a high scoring contest, Saturday’s match was tight duel of defensive strength for Susquehanna, who allowed only four shots on target despite playing with ten men for nearly half of Saturday’s game. Elizabethtown would also make scoring a premium as Susquehanna was only able to post three shots on target.
The match would open with high intensity, as each side was able to muster a total of 12 shots in the first 45 minutes.
Junior midfielder Alex Graul had the first close scoring opportunity for Susquehanna, as he fired a left-footed shot that was barely saved by Elizabethtown senior goalkeeper Brian Gatley’s fingertips.
The second half would see both defense sides able to keep scoring opportunities to a minimum, with only three shots collectively in the half. Susquehanna’s best scoring opportunity in the half came from Maxwell Reed’s direct kick which deflected off the crossbar in the 55th minute.
Despite a second yellow card for sophomore midfielder Dakota Dobrovich-Fago forcing the River Hawks down to ten men in the 59th minute, Susquehanna was able to defend the net exceptionally well, allowing only five shots over the next 50 minutes.
After a unsuccessful first overtime period, double overtime would see much of the same for the final 20 minutes of play. Both sides combined for five shots in the period, and Gatley had to make two saves on shots from senior midfielder Noah Carles and senior midfielder Eric Dempsey during the period.
Junior goalkeeper Matt Ellingsworth would rack up four saves on the day, including several diving attempts, as the Susquehanna defense made quality shots on target hard to come by for the Blue Jays.
The task of getting shots off would be fairly split for the River Hawks as four separate players got managed to shoot twice. Graul, however, would lead the way in shots on target with a total of two on the day.
Corner kick opportunities came aplenty, with Susquehanna earning nine corner opportunities to Elizabethtown’s four corners.
The tie against Elizabethtown was only the fourth time in 60 appearances that the Blue Jays have not defeated Susquehanna. Currently, Elizabethtown has a record of 56– 1–3 against the River Hawks dating back to 1960.
Susquehanna will continue Landmark Conference-play and look to pick up their second win of the season as travel to Bethlehem for a match against the Moravian Greyhounds (4-2-2). The match will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29 at John Matkuvek Field.
The Greyhounds look to continue an undefeated stretch when they welcome Susquehanna to town after taking down Juniata 2–1 on Sept. 22 and tieing Stockton University 2–2 on Sept. 19.
Moravian also currently fields the reigning Landmark Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week in freshman midfielder Anthony Nagy, who scored a goal in both games for the Greyhounds and took three shots during the week’s games.
“Anthony has provided us a spark in the midfield,” Moravian head coach Bob Wilkinson said in an interview with the Greyhounds’ sports information department. “He is very active and good with the ball at his feet.”
Nagy and sophomore defender/midfielder Alac Aloia lead Moravian in goals on the season with three each. Aloia also has two assists on the year thus far. They will be the main players to stop for the River Hawks.