By Mady Burns, Contributing Writer
The Susquehanna men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Lycoming College in a non-conference game on Saturday, Sept. 8 in Selinsgrove, Pa.
The River Hawks had two shots on goal in the first half. Senior forward Alex Graul had an opportunity to net a goal, but the shot was tipped over the crossbar by Lycoming sophomore goalie Zack Donoway.
Junior forward Chris Naiman had a shot on goal in the first half which was also saved.
Lycoming had one shot in the first half that went wide and the first half ended in a 0-0 tie. Lycoming’s defensive midfielder George Charalabidis scored 67 minutes into the game off of a lofted ball into the box, which ended up in the net by deflecting off of a Susquehanna defender.
Charalabidis put the only goal of the game on the board and ultimately secured the win for the Warriors.
“It was just unlucky, they had a cross that hit off of our own players and ended up in the net,” junior center midfielder Tristan Barquin said.
“It was a low shot game,” Susquehanna head coach Jim Findlay said. “We outplayed and out possessed Lycoming the entire game.”
There were only eight total shots in the game, as Susquehanna had three and Lycoming had five. The River Hawks had two shots on frame and three corner kicks. Lycoming trailed behind with one shot on frame and two corner kicks.
Graul explained that the tempo picked up in the second half which led to more challenges and more fouls, which coach Findlay agreed with.
“If we played the way that we did in the first half, we would have come out with a win,” Graul said. “Playing aggressive is not our style of play so we struggled in the second half when the game became more physical,” Findlay said.
There were 18 total fouls in the game, with most of them occurring in the second half. The River Hawks were called for 11 fouls and Lycoming was called for seven.
Senior goalie Matt Ellingworth was named as the top performer of the game, finishing with a second half save, but it ultimately wasn’t enough for the River Hawks to secure a win.
“We needed to create more chances and opportunities to finish,” Findlay said.
Susquehanna will look to bounce back when they next compete against Arcadia at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Glenside, Pa.
