Huntingdon, Pa. - Juniata's men's soccer team suffered a tough 2-0 loss against the No. 10 Lycoming Warriors at Gibbel Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 14 under the lights. They now sit at 1-5 on the season, a week before conference play.
Freshman Logan Tackett (Herndon, Va./Herndon) started in goal for the Eagles, recording two saves on two shots on goal in 21 minutes of play. In the 25th minute, Tackett jumped up for a successful save, colliding with a Lycoming player in the box. He removed himself from the game minutes after; Andrew Yeich (Middletown, Pa./Middletown Area) took his spot in goal.
The Warriors held the advantage during the first half of the game with seven shots. The Eagles only had one, Dani Meyer-Arrivillaga's (Durham, N.C./Carolina Friends) shot on goal. In part to good defense and solid goalkeeping on both sides, the game was scoreless going into the half.
Both teams came out strong in the second half of the game. Lycoming shot 22 times, yet nothing could get through the Eagles' impenetrable defense. Taylor Golemboski (Philipsburg, Pa./Philips-Osceola) and Wyatt Page (King of Prussia, Pa./Shipley) kept the ball away from the Warriors' threatening offense time and time again, while Yeich tallied three saves. Juniata moved the ball down to their goal quite a few times, but they were only able to get two more shots.
As the clock winded down, the energy in Gibbel Stadium started to build. The crowd and the sidelines cheering for their respective teams, hoping they could score in the final minutes.
Then, in the 84th minute, the Warriors struck. On a controversial penalty kick, Lycoming took a 1-0 lead. They scored once more a minute later after a foul on Juniata.
"Although it was kind of unfortunate the way the game ended, we walked off with our heads held high… To play that incredibly gifted team and apply our defensive pressure to limit their opportunities shows us that we can play with anybody," said head coach Dan Dubois.
Up next, the Eagles play at King's College (Pa.) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m.
