Atlantic Spotlight, Wk 4

By D3soccer.com Contributor

As the season shifts from summer to fall, so do the schedules. Conference play is finally here and Week #4 featured a few Top-25 matchups, tough ties, and more. Here’s a look at it all.

Haverford ties No. 22 Rowan, beats No. 7 Johns Hopkins

The Haverford Fords (3-1-2) have played a challenging early schedule and have shown they should be taken seriously as Centennial Conference contenders. On Wednesday, the Fords hosted the oft-traveled Rowan Profs (4-1-3 / 0-0-1) and on Saturday traveled to battle the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins (5-2-0 / 0-1-0). Both opponents are currently ranked in the D3soccer.com Top 25.

The Fords let one slip away against Rowan, taking the lead twice only to allow a goal in the final minute of each half to settle for a 2-2 tie. Senior Nick Jannelli opened the scoring in the 2nd minute on a direct kick just outside the box, and Senior Rodrigo Zuniga got the first of his career off a flick from Jannelli in the 54th to retake a 2-1 lead. But in each half junior Prof Matt Hendrickson found the net just 24 seconds before the whistle to squeak out a tie.

It’s not a stretch to think that the Fords were still shaking their heads after letting one get away earlier in the week before they took on Johns Hopkins. A relentless Blue Jay attack outshot Haverford 22-2, but the Fords never broke and came away with a 1-0 conference opening win. Rookie goalie Dylan Ioffreda collected 11 saves and earned his first shutout, while junior Kevin Kaufman scored the winner from a tough angle midway through the opening half.

No. 12 Mary Washington ties Catholic, shuts out Widener

In a matchup of two excellent defensive teams, the Catholic Cardinals (6-1-1) registered their sixth straight clean sheet as they battled the No. 12 Mary Washington Eagles (5-1-2) to a scoreless draw. The Eagles were on a four-game clean sheet run of their own, and with most of the play in the midfield, the goalkeepers weren’t very active. Catholic’s Jack Long made one save while Ken Kurtz had three for the Eagles.

The Eagles pitched another shutout later in the week while hosting the Widener Pride (6-2-0). They outshot their guests 13-4, out cornered them 11-0, but it was a penalty kick conversion from Senior Jacob Lovinger that was the only score of the game.

No. 16 Washington and Lee concedes late tying goal at Christopher Newport

The Washington and Lee Generals (6-1-1 /1-0-0) took the lead over the Christopher Newport Captains (3-1-3) on sophomore Conner Wharton’s curling, left-footed 25-yard free kick in the 55th minute. It was the only goal for the Generals on the day despite taking 21 shots and putting 12 on goal. The host Captains responded in the 80th minute off a header-header goal from soph Will Collins to junior Justin Wilson. The tying goal put the Captains in their fourth straight double-overtime game.

Senior keeper Justin Percy collected ten saves for the Captains while soph Michael Nyc pulled in six saves to preserve the tie.

Messiah equals late, takes down York (Pa.) in OT. Gets another home tie versus Salisbury

Wednesday evening, with just 15 seconds left, junior Trevor Goulding scored his second of the night to pull the Messiah Falcons (4-2-2) even 2-2 with host York Spartans (Pa.) (4-2-2). With the clock ticking down, freshman Grant Johnson collected the ball on the left and sent a cross into the box that Goulding headed into the right-side netting. As if that wasn’t stunning enough, Goulding completed the hat trick just four minutes into extra time. Senior Micah Fritz beat Spartan goalie Billy Bridegum to a long ball over the top, and he was able to find Goulding in front for the tap in winner.

The Spartans were led by junior Zion Friday who knotted it 1-1 in the 24th minute. Off a free kick from senior Barak Amiga, Friday headed it home. He also assisted to take the lead in the 65th. His pass to soph Travis Gould was nicely volleyed home. The teams played even the rest of the way. For a while, it looked like the Spartans would break their six-game losing streak to the Falcons, but Goulding was having none of that.

The Falcons returned home on Saturday to face the Salisbury Sea Gulls (5-1-1). The home team had the run of play and outshot their guests 29-9 and out cornering them 12-0. In overtime, both sides had opportunities from the penalty spot to put the game away. First Sea Gull Josh Woozley was fouled in the box, but Dolph Hegewisch’s high shot may have been touched by Falcon goalie Nate Flanders before it clanged off the crossbar. Less than a minute later Sea Gull goalie Ryan Miller made a nice dive to his right to stop Luke Groothoff from the spot.

There were more chances, but neither team could solve the other defense. It ended nil-nil after 110 hard minutes.

Rutgers-Camden takes down No. 19 Montclair State

On Saturday, the Montclair State Redhawks (6-3-0 / 0-1-0) traveled the length of New Jersey to open the NJAC season against the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors (7-2-0 / 1-0-0). In the first minutes senior Chris Taraska intercepted a clearing kick by Red Hawk goalie Michael Mejia and sent a through ball to junior Skylar Diggs. Diggs beat Mejia to the pass and finished for his seventh of the early season.

The next 65 minutes were back and forth, with most of the play in the midfield as neither team ever really challenged. The Scarlet Raptors changed that in the 68th, as freshman Enrique Sanchez found junior midfielder Luis Rivadeneira on the right side who controlled before firing one into the upper left side. Junior goalie Kieran Burns made four saves to pitch the shutout.

The Scarlet Raptors hadn’t beaten the Red Hawks since Nov. 24, 2013, when they won 2-1 in the NCAA tournament to send the Scarlet Raptors to the Final Four.

No. 13 Franklin and Marshall over Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference opener

The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats (6-1-0 / 1-0-0) and the Muhlenberg Mules (5-1-1 / 0-1-0) were tied 1-1 after just five minutes of their Centennial Conference opener on Saturday. Sophomore A.J. Kopacz got on the board for the Diplomats in the 4th minute off a short pass from junior Alex Lalovic. Just a minute later, soph Stephan Carton finished a breakaway for the Mules to tie the score.

It was mostly the Diplomats the rest of the way, and in the 72nd minute the pressure paid off. A Mule foul in the box led to Kopacz scoring from the spot. The Soph stepped up and notched his second of the game. Senior goalie Christopher Amoruso collected two saves to secure the win.

Shout outs for teams starting strong

The Penn State-Behrend Lions (7-0-0 / 1-0-0) stayed unbeaten as Nick Schwarzel scored unassisted in the 89th against the Mounties of Mount Aloysius (4-4-0 / 0-1-0) to start MACC play. Freshman Jordan Floyd leads with six goals and an assist. Junior Richard Blanchard has four goals and four assists. Senior Matt Warnaka has been keeper for six of the wins.

The McDaniel Green Terror (8-0-0 / 1-0-0) started Centennial Conference play with a come from behind 3-1 win against Ursinus (3-3-0 / 0-1-0). Junior Jacob Wells has seven early goals, while soph Nick Starr has a goal and six assists. Junior Aaron Billie and frosh Matt Hays have split time in the net.

The Roanoke Maroons (7-0-1) have nearly run their tough early season schedule to get ready for ODAC play to start this week. Defense has been key, as they’ve worked for five clean sheets and have just three goals against. The Maroons have spread it around offensively. They have 23 goals and 14 goal scorers. Sophomore Zach Behe minds the net.

The King’s Monarchs (6-1-0) have run off six in a row including four 1-goal wins. Seniors Aidan DeCamillo and August Altman lead with six and five goals, respectively. While senior Alastair Dinnan and rookie Dylan Ramage have each dished three assists. Goalkeeper duties are being split by juniors Pat Hughes and Connor McKeown.

The Stevens Ducks (6-1-1) only loss has been to ranked Franklin and Marshall. Junior Christiano Hocken leads with four goals and an assist. Junior Aidan Boriotti has been in goal each game.

The Hood Blazers (6-1-1) are led by seniors Clay Smith (7 goals, 1 assist) and Alain Shekanino (4, 4) with keepers soph Isaac Coeto Jr and senior Danny Castillo only conceding six goals in the eight games.

This Friday the Covenant Scots (6-0-1 / 3-0-0) face off against the North Carolina Wesleyan Bishops (6-1-1 / 4-0-0) for the midpoint lead in the USA South Atlantic Conference.

Games with impact this week

Johns Hopkins v St. Mary’s (Md.), Washington and Lee v Lynchburg, Catholic v Salisbury, Haverford v Rutgers-Camden, St. Mary’s (Md.) V Mary Washington, Franklin and Marshall v Haverford, Montclair State v Rowan, Lynchburg v Roanoke

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