By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Jennifer Jones
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College women's soccer team suffered a gut wrenching 3-2 double-overtime loss to Drew University in the Landmark Conference semifinals. The Eagles, with an overall record of 14-5, will now wait to see if they are selected to participate in either the NCAA Division III tournament or the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South region tournament.
"I told them, when I finally talked to the team, there are no words to heal a broken heart, and that's kind of the way it goes," said head coach Scott McKenzie. "[Assistant coach] Kaleigh [Herring] had a much more intelligent line, which was, they have to now have a very short memory. If we are fortunate enough to be selected for the ECACs we'll have a game a week from today. They have to go ahead and morn this loss, get over this loss, and get onto preparing for what is hopefully another game."
Juniata opened the scoring when sophomore Emily Green (Marietta, Pa./Donegal) chipped a ball into the box and senior Alicia Snyder (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) was able to beat the Drew defender to the ball. She took a shot while falling to the ground to put the Eagles up 1-0 in the 23rd minute. The two teams earned a number of chances in the first half with Juniata outshooting Drew 8-7 and entered the midway break at 1-0.
Drew sophomore Emma Campbell scored twice in the second half in the 53rd and 64th minutes to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead with 25 minutes remaining in regulation. The Eagles continued to pound the Drew goal launching 11 shots and earning six corner kicks in the period. In the 74th minute, sophomore Sarah Rhodes (Bloomfield, N.Y./Bloomfield Central) was taken down inside the Drew 18-yard box. The Eagles were awarded a penalty kick and, as she has done every time in her career, Snyder step up to the spot and buried the ball in the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2.
"If this were to be the last game; you can't fault the effort," added McKenzie. "In any game you can question certain decisions, but you can't fault the effort here. They put it all out there. You have to give Drew a lot of credit. We thought Drew was on the ropes fitness wise and they found their eighth wind. That caused us a little bit of concern. You've got to give our kids credit too. We moved to a three front and took one of their safety valves away in the middle of the field and the team absorbed that move pretty well."
Regulation ended with the score still tied and in the two overtime periods, Juniata outshot Drew 5-2, but with, 62 seconds remaining on the clock, Drew scored the decisive final goal to advance to the Landmark championship game.
"We had our chances and that's all you can ask for," said McKenzie. "Nothing is going to make them feel good right now, but the players that return will know that they have the ability, in a pressure filled game, to come back from a deficit."
Selection for the NCAA and ECAC tournaments takes place Monday, Nov. 11.
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