October 14, 2019
Atlantic Spotlight, Wk 7
By D3soccer.com Contributor
Conference play continued, and some of the nation’s top teams found themselves with tough matches across the Atlantic region. While some top-ten sides stayed unbeaten, a few teams further down the d3soccer.com leaderboard faltered. Here are the top games we’re spotlighting in Week #7:
At the halfway point of CAC play No. 23 Christopher Newport undefeated
The Capital Athletic Conference features a smaller six team table where teams play each other twice each season. The CAC features home and home fixtures each year as opposed to some of the larger conferences, where nine or more only play each other once per year. Five games into the 2019 CAC schedule, Christopher Newport Captains (8-1-3) (5-0-0) are perfect and two games clear of the rest of the field.
This past Wednesday, on a chilly, rainy fall evening, the Captains controlled the league’s top offense and beat the St. Mary’s (Md.) Seahawks (9-3-1) (3-2-0) 3-1. They held the Seahawks shot-less in the first half, went up 1-0 in the 36th on a nice combination play finished by soph Cory Hogge, and pulled away after allowing an equalizer to secure the late win.
The eventual game winner came in the 66th minute on another combination play. Sophomore Will Collins put a ball to the end line, which classmate Lincoln Kickbush collected and lobbed back in front. Collins ran onto the head-high ball and put it home.
York (Pa.) stymies No. 17 Mary Washington
In a game played mostly in the midfield, where each team could only muster eight shots, a late header off a free kick propelled the York (Pa.) Spartans (7-4-2) (3-2-0) to an upset of the Mary Washington Eagles (8-3-2) (3-2-0).
The Spartans, though, first had to dodge an early bullet. A handball in the box in the 14th gave the Eagles an early chance, but Spartan freshman netminder Josh Kappes saved the penalty to keep the game scoreless.
In the 79th minute, Junior Ethan Lloyd lined up a free kick just over midfield. His perfect strike to the middle of the box found the head of senior Marc Margo, who flicked home for the only goal of the game.
The Eagles tried to rally but never broke through. They had four corners in the waning minutes, but Kappes and the Spartan defense held for their third straight shutout.
No. 6 Franklin and Marshall needs late winner at Ursinus
Although the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats (12-1-0) (5-0-0) allowed just one shot in the first half against the Ursinus Bears (4-6-1) (0-4-1), they found themselves down 1-nil just 16 minutes in on Saturday. Bear sophomore Aidan O’Malley intercepted a pass near midfield, saw the keeper off his line, and launched a long-range effort that got over the keeper and fell into the net.
But as the day progressed, the Diplomats pressed and dominated. They outshot the Bears 20-3, put eight shots on goal vs just O’Malley’s stunner, and out cornered the Bears 6-0. They trailed for only five minutes after soph Dallen Moore sent a beautiful cross that junior Alex Lalovic was able to tap in for an equalizer in the 21st.
The Bear defense held steady against constant pressure in the second half. But eventually the Diplomats broke through. In the 81st, after a long throw-in was bouncing in the box, soph A.J. Kopacz ran on and pushed a pass to soph Kane Feudtner, who deposited the game-winner. It was Feudtner’s first of the year.
No. 7 Johns Hopkins PK with 34 seconds left leads to Swarthmore tie
The Swarthmore Garnet (6-3-3) (1-2-2) gave the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (9-2-1) (3-1-1) all they could handle on Saturday evening in Baltimore. Trailing at half 1-0, the Garnet tied the game in the 65th minute. Senior Omri Gal picked up his first of the season, blasting in a rebound from senior Joey Bradley’s strike off the crossbar. The Garnet then took the lead in the 83rd. Junior Joe Basile took an assist from Freshman Bless Tumushabe and scored on a sliding kick in front.
With less than a half minute to play junior Blue Jay Pablo Martinez got to the top of the box with the ball and a leg cocked to shoot. But he was sandwiched by two Garnet defenders, resulting in an attempt from the penalty spot. Junior Liam Creedon struck hard and low right to knot the game.
Neither team punched one in during the two overtime periods even though the Blue Jays played down a man for the final seven minutes when Creedon was sent off.
Another 1-goal win for No. 20 Catholic on late winner
The Catholic Cardinals (12-1-1) (3-0-0), after squandering several opportunities, needed three second half goals to squeak out a 3-2 win while hosting the Susquehanna River Hawks on Saturday evening. Sophomore Darius Siahpoosh had the game winner in the 82nd as well as an assist to lead his ranked team to a win. In a game that featured four penalty kicks – the Cardinals made one of three – it was the Cardinals' constant attack that eventually made the difference.
After conceding a penalty kick in the 80th minute, which ultimately tied the score, Catholic responded well. Siahpoosh took a pass from soph Connor Logsdon for his third game-winners goal of the season.
In ODAC play No. 10 Roanoke notches two more shutouts
The Roanoke Maroons (11-0-2) (3-0-1) continue to streak. With two more shutouts this week, they ran their unbeaten streak to start the season to 13 games. They’ve combined a shutdown defense, solid goalkeeping, and timely scoring and have outscored their opponents 33-4. They also haven’t allowed more than one goal in a game and have posted nine shutouts.
On Wednesday, in a very competitive game, they bested the Ferrum Panthers (9-4-0) (2-2-0). After a scoreless first half, the Maroons broke through twice in the first eight minutes of the second and held from there. In the 50th, soph Isaac Wolf took a pass from senior Jon-Cody Mactutus to break the tie. Minutes later soph Anthony Zarlenga went unassisted to make it 2-0. Zach Behe and Daniel Golden shared the shutout in goal.
Saturday brought the Shenandoah Hornets (5-7-0) (1-2-0) to town and another a dominating effort by the host Maroons. They outshot the Panthers 20-5, out cornered them 9-1, and got goals from a freshman and two sophomores leading to the 3-0 victory. Behe made two saves in goal.
Some separation but NJAC still has a logjam
After five teams were tied atop the NJAC at 2-1-1, this week’s results didn’t do much to break up the logjam.
The Rowan Profs (7-2-3) (3-1-1) moved into a share of the lead by easily dispatching the NJCU Gothic Knights (11-5-0) (0-5-0) 5-0. They share the top spot with the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Knights (10-4-1) (3-1-1), who had a much tougher time but managed to get by the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders (5-8-1) (1-3-1) on a Patrick Grudnik blast in the 71st minute to post the 3-2 win.
Last year, three of the four losses by the Ramapo Roadrunners (7-1-5) (2-1-2) were to the Montclair State Red Hawks (10-4-1) (2-2-1). They lost in the regular season, the NJAC Championship game, and in the round-of-16 of the NCAA tournament. This year’s regular season matchup turned out just a bit better, as the Roadrunners battled their fellow north Jersey opponent to a 1-1 tie.
The Kean Rangers (8-4-2) (2-1-2) and the TCNJ Lions ((9-2-3) (1-1-3) also managed to tie, so there’s still not much separating the top seven teams in the conference. After Rowan and Rutgers-Camden there are three teams at 2-1-2 and two teams at 2-2-1.
Medaille halts No. 21 Penn State-Behrend MACC play
The Behrend Lions (12-1-0) (3-1-0) had their 11 game win streak snapped and suffered their first conference loss when they travel to Buffalo, NY on Wednesday to take on the Medaille Mavericks (7-4-2) (5-0-1). Just four minutes in junior Tom Greenhills took a curling corner from Freshman Eric Meade and powered a header past Lion goalie Matt Wanaka.
Senior goalie Jonny Pitts made seven saves for the Maverick’s – who held on for the big win.
Games with impact this week
Christopher Newport v St. Mary’s and Mary Washington,
Franklin and Marshall v Johns Hopkins,
Ramapo v Kean, Roanoke v Randolph
Comments or feedback for the author? E-mail us.
