By Olivia Parke, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Wilkes in a non-conference game on Sept. 18 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
The River Hawks had seven shots on goal in the first half of the game while Wilkes led them by one with eight shots.
Junior midfielder Alex Bellot and freshman mid elder Shayne Davies provided a strong effort in the midfield to keep the Colonels off the scoreboard for the majority of the first half.
Susquehanna and Wilkes went head-to-head in the second half on corner kicks, with four for each team. In the 57th minute, junior defender Jacob Butzler gave the River Hawks their first scoring opportunity but was unable to find the back of the net.
Seconds later, the Colonels got their first goal after a foul that resulted in a penalty kick in the box from Kyle Bentz.
“We should have won,” Butzler said. “I think we could definitely work on our offense and working off the ball, but we really just needed to finish our scoring chances.”
Later in the second half, junior defender Scott Misson gave the River Hawks their final chance to tie up the score as the final seconds of the game ticked away with a header in the box that just went wide.
Following the loss to Wilkes, Susquehanna hosted York College on Sept. 21 and suffered a 2-1 loss.
The first goal came from York, but the River Hawks followed close behind when junior defender Kyle Trainor tied up the score 1-1.
“Our mindset going into the game was to put everything on the eld and prove to everyone that we were there to compete and win,” Trainor said. “Despite our current record, I believe we do have a strong chance of doing something great this season. There is still a lot of soccer to be played. We are just getting started.”
The score was extended to 2-1 in the 75th minute in favor of the Lions. Susquehanna came back again with another goal to tie up the game, but it got called back when the referee called a foul in the box against the River Hawks.
Susquehanna will get set to begin conference play against Elizabethtown at 1 p.m. on Sept. 28 in Elizabethtown, Pa.