By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich Photography
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In Bethlehem, Pa. this afternoon, the Juniata College women's soccer team fell to Moravian College in Landmark Conference play. The Eagles couldn't overcome a first half 1-0 deficit and fell to 10-4 on the year.
"It was pretty much a forgettable first half, but we played incredible well in the second half," said head coach Scott McKenzie. "Moravian finished their opportunities and we did not. At the end of the game we had almost caught up with them in shots and that's after not having a shot in the first half."
The Greyhounds took a 1-0 in the 27th minute and carried the lead all the way to halftime. Moravian outshot Juniata 6-0 in the first 45 minutes with neither team earning a corner kick. Two promising opportunities for the Eagles were thwarted in offside calls.
"In the second half we did what we wanted to do," said McKenzie. "We made some good adjustments. In the end it's really tiring to defend for 45 minutes. We didn't finish our chances."
Juniata started the second half on a high note, launching three shots in the first five minutes and earning a corner kick. Senior Paula Pryor (Westbrookville, N.Y./Burke Catholic) fired a shot that was all but certainly heading into the net, but the Moravian keeper got just enough of her hand to the ball to tip it over the crossbar.
"We just tried to calm everyone down," said McKenzie. "Moravian is not afraid to put body on body and we just needed to get everyone used to that. Just get them to trust in their own skill set. We made a minor adjustment with where we put Paula which gave her a lot more opportunities in the second half.
That put us in the position to be able to equalize in the third or fourth minute. Moravian had a couple of opportunities that were dangerous and they hit both of them."
Juniata continued to pound the Moravian goal outshooting the Greyhounds 8-3 before Moravian added to its lead at the 82-minute mark. The Greyhounds tacked on a third goal in the 85th minute to defeat the Eagles 3-0. Juniata falls to 1-2 in Landmark play with three league matches remaining in the regular season. Overall, Moravian outshot Juniata 13-10, but the Eagles hammered 10 shots to the Greyhounds seven in the second half.
"Soccer is one of those sports that you can't look at the scoreboard and know the whole story," added McKenzie. "This was not a 3-0 defeat."
Juniata faces off against Susquehanna University in a midweek conference match in Selinsgrove this Wednesday. The Eagles next return home Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. in the first half of a Landmark doubleheader with the men's team against Drew University.
"Historically it takes at least three wins to get into the conference tournament," said McKenzie. "We had a chance today to climb closer to that. We're eliminating our safety net. We have three conference games remaining and now we have to win two of those three. This was not the best game to drop, but it is what it is and we're still alive for conference play. We need to take care of business now."
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