Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Ashley Nace
The River Hawks men’s soccer team tied Wilkes 1-1 in Wednesday night’s game at Sassafras Field.
The tie puts Susquehanna (2-6-3 Overall, 0-1-2 Landmark) on a three-game tie streak, after a 1-1 draw against King’s College, followed by a 0-0 result against Elizabethtown over the weekend.
The game was very front heavy, with both goals coming in the first 17 minutes of the play.
Aidan Diglio, the River Hawks’ leading goal scorer, scored the only River Hawks goal at 37:52 assisted by Zak Kreisher.
“It’s a team effort and I’ve been fortunate to have teammates who put me in good positions to score,” Diglio said.
Susquehanna outshot Wilkes (0-8-2 Overall, 0-2-1 Landmark) 10-8 with many chances coming from corner kicks, of which Susquehanna topped Wilkes 5-2.
The River Hawks started the action with two back-to-back shots 6:10 minutes into the game. The first from Nicky Gray and the follow up from Joe Holmwood.
“We came out with a lot of energy and confidence from the start,” Diglio said. “We wanted to set the tone early, put pressure on them, and take advantage of our opportunities.”
After his goal, Diglio fired another shot that missed high, but the Colonels put one away with 27:56 remaining in the half.
Owen Karr had a shot for the River Hawks after the Wilkes goal. Wilkes’ only other chance of the half came in the two minutes of play, but the shot missed high.
Wilkes picked up their pressure in the second half, generating more shooting opportunities and putting Susuehanna on defense.
“We knew they were going to push harder in the second half, so we had to stay composed and communicate with each,” Diglio said.
Wilkes had the first shot of the second half that was saved by Susquehanna goalkeeper Jason Krum.
“One of our biggest strengths is our defense and our ability to compete and stay organized as a team,” Diglio said.
Two back-to-back corners gave Susquehanna’s Smith and Ben Faranda-Diedrich shots at the goal.
Both teams continued taking turns at each other’s nets until Smith received a yellow card. Wilkes had two more shots after.
A pair of River Hawks shots from Karr and Holmwood concluded Susquehanna’s scoring chances for the game.
Three more yellows, one on Faranda-Diedrich and two for Wilkes brought the game to a close.
The River Hawks will look to break the tie streak and earn their first Landmark Conference win when they host Drew on Saturday, Oct 10 at 1 p.m.