HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Despite a quick equalizer to start the second half, Juniata men's soccer dropped their final home match of the season to Susquehanna University 2-1 Wednesday afternoon.
"Although we are not happy with the result, the guys worked real hard the entire game," said Juniata Head Coach Dan Dubois.
Juniata dropped to 8-7 (1-4 Landmark) while Susquehanna improved to 12-2, 4-1 in Landmark play with the win.
The Crusaders struck first in the match. Brandon Kates redirected a shot by Andrew Murphy in the 33rd minute to give Susquehanna the 1-0 lead.
Juniata went into the break being outshot by the Crusaders 8-4, but both teams had just two shots on-goal.
The Eagles came out in the second half on fire. Sophomore Nick Stone-Weiss (North Olmsted, Ohio/North Olmstead) got his head on an indirect hit from junior Seth Ruggiero (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) 50 seconds after the break to tie the match at 1-1.
Both teams then battled for over 20 minutes before Crusader Daniel Sosa took a low cross from Ryan Donlevie into the back of the net to give Susquehanna the 2-1 lead.
"Giving up the late goal is disappointing with the fact that we fought through the full 90 minutes," said Dubois. "We would have liked to send our seniors out on a higher note, but I'm still proud of this team."
Today was the last home match for the men's soccer team. Juniata hits the road for the remainder of its regular season and will face Landmark rival Drew this Saturday Oct. 20 at 3:30 p.m. Last year the Eagles fell 2-1 in overtime at home to Drew. The last time Juniata traveled to the Rangers, they fell 4-1 in 2010.
"Unfortunately, we have three matches left and their all on the road," started Dubois. "But the guys will go on the road and fight."
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