Saturday, Oct. 28, Elizabethtown College’s men’s soccer team confirmed there will be a home semi-final game in the near future while sweeping Juniata College out of the way with overwhelming power.
The men led with 17 total shots, along with astounding possession throughout the entire length of the match. Junior goalkeeper Brian Gately only had to make two saves to lock in the 3-0 win for Etown, making this his sixth shutout altogether.
All of the goals came within the first half, making the game exciting from the whistle. The first goal was about 13 minutes in for sophomore Cameron Sheva, marking his first goal of the season.
About a minute later, sophomore J.D. Haff earned his fourth goal of the season assisted by junior Gilbert Waso. Waso earned his 11th goal of the season in the 38th minute of the first half with help from senior Scott Hess.
The teams fouled consistently throughout the match as well, with Etown at 13 total fouls and Juniata at 15. This held true for corner kicks as well. Etown had four corners and Juniata had five.
Tuesday, Oct. 31, the men took on Catholic University for a Landmark Conference semifinal game. A 0-0 after double overtime took the game to penalty kicks. Etown scored on three out of its four attempts. Catholic scored on attempts two and three, but Gately blocked the Cardinals fourth shot, earning the Jays a spot in the Landmark Conference Championship game Saturday, Nov. 4, at Drew University at 2 p.m.
The women’s soccer team also shut out Juniata. The Jays swept Juniata in shots with 11 total, while Juniata fell short with only five shots.
Both teams’ goalkeepers had two saves to maintain the balance defensively, but there was a big difference in total fouls. Juniata had 12 while Etown stayed at five total fouls by the end of the game. Juniata had four corners and Etown finished the afternoon with eight.
With 15 total goals this season, sophomore Lydia Lawson is truly making a name for herself, adding two more goals to that total after the team’s game against Juniata. Lawson ended the match with three total goals with assists on two of them by senior Alex Jacobs. In the last couple minutes of the match, first-year Nicole Billard was able to earn her very first goal to lock in a 4-0 win for the women against Juniata.
Wednesday, Nov. 1, the women were defeated 3-0 by University of Scranton in their Landmark Conference semifinal game, bringing an end to the Jays’ season. The team finished 9-7-1 (4-3 Landmark) and tied with Catholic University for fourth in the conference.
