Box Score
|
|
| Michael
Romano |
Henry
Bonilla |
|
|
| John
Spadaro |
Michael
Bergen |
Box score
Photo gallery (courtesy of Dan
Ceccacci)
Sophomore midfielder Michael Romano
(Freehold, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and freshman
forward Henry Bonilla
(Fairless Hills, Pa./The Pennington School) scored goals
as The University of Scranton men's soccer team pushed its unbeaten
streak to eight with a 2-1 victory over Ithaca on Wednesday evening
at Fitzpatrick Field.
The Royals' eight-match unbeaten streak to start the season is
their second-longest since 1993. They won 13 straight to open last
season when they finished 17-3-2 and reached the Elite Eight of the
NCAA Tournament.
In a back-and-forth game that saw plenty of speed and physical
play, the Royals (5-0-3) struck first when Romano scored in the
32nd minute. Senior forward John Spadaro
(Stony Point, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) beat the Ithaca keeper
to a ball in the right corner of the box and sent a pass toward the
front of the goal where Romano was able to corral it and beat a
defender for his first goal of the season and third of his
career.
Bonilla added an important insurance goal in the 55th minute on
a perfectly placed corner kick by freshman midfielder Michael Bergen
(Newtown, Pa./The Pennington School). Bergen's kick sailed
right to the front post, where Bonilla's header from a couple yards
out was on the mark for his first career goal.
Ithaca got within striking distance with a goal in the
61st minute when junior forward Casey Williamson
(Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) tapped in the rebound of a shot by freshman
forward Sean Forward (Dover, Mass.).
Scranton outshot Ithaca, 23-12, as 10 different players had at
least one shot. The Royals also held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
Freshman goalkeeper Eric Hintz (South
Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) made four saves, including a
leaping deflection over the crossbar of a long shot that preserved
Scranton's lead in the final 15 minutes.
The victory improves Scranton to 4-3-1 all-time against Ithaca.
It's the Royals' first victory over the Bombers since a 2-0 victory
on Sept. 7, 1986.
Scranton opens Landmark Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 28,
when it travels to Huntingdon, Pa. to face Juniata at 3:30
p.m.
--ROYALS--
