Eagles Improve to 3-2-1 In Conference With a 2-1 Win Over USMMA

By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich Photography 

WHITEHALL, Pa.  – The Juniata College men's soccer team stopped a surging U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) today, winning 2-1 in a match that was rescheduled from earlier this month. The Eagles got two goals in the first ten minutes of the match and held on for their third conference win of the year and improved to 12-4-2 overall.

"The guys came out flying in the beginning of the game," said head coach Dan Dubois. "It was exactly the way you want to draw it up. Getting two goals really early just because we were working hard and creating opportunities for ourselves."

After a 26-day hiatus from competition, the Mariners had won back-to-back conference matches, but the Eagles were able to stop that momentum early. In just the fourth minute of play, Senior Dane Azeles (Duncasville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) played the ball in off a corner kick and junior Nick Weit (Litiz, Pa./Warwick) headed it past the USMMA keeper for the 1-0 lead.

Only six minutes later, freshman Steven Stroup (Bedford, Pa./Bedford) collected the ball on the left wing, beat a defender down the line, served the ball into the box, and Azeles made a great finish for the game-winning goal.

"Dane is having a great end to his senior year," said Dubois. "He had a great year last year and I think he took that a little for granted thinking it would just happen again. He's had to work hard and become that much better of a teammate supporting the other guys and he's done that really well. He did a great job with doing the work today, making sure the guys were up and keeping involved in the game. Even though his opportunities were early in the game they were something that was bound to keep happening. He had a lot of positive energy today and I'm really happy for him."

The intensity from USMMA began to pick up at the end of the half as the scored their lone goal in the 43^rd minute. USMMA earned six corner kicks in the first 45 minutes, out cornering Juniata 8-2 in the match and outshooting the Eagles 12-10.

"They started pressing hard at the end of the first half," said Dubois. "We made some tactical changes and were able to hold off their big press toward the end. USMMA likes to put balls in at the defense and force them to make decision and make plays. They forced our defense to make a lot of plays and we did. Our back line, the four of them played all 90 minutes, sometimes there are shaky minutes, but they stayed strong. They made a lot of really good plays."

With every win, Juniata continues to build on their record setting season in both the conference wins and total wins columns.

"Last night and before the game today, we talked a lot about what kind of program we are and what kind of program we want to be," said Dubois. "The guys want to be a top class group. They want to be the kind that works hard and plays well and gets their victories through good play and good sportsmanship and hard work. That's what they talked about and what they decided they wanted to do and that's what they did today. It's about getting that playoff spot and, today, they put themselves in good position to do that."

Juniata returns home Saturday, Nov. 2, at 3:30 p.m. in the second half of a Landmark Conference double header with the women's team against Drew University. The match marks the final game in the Eagles regular season schedule.

"We're going to take some time to recover and make sure we're healthy," said Dubois. "We know what Drew is going to do, we have some pretty good scouts. We need to make sure that we have perfected everything that we are going to do. We are going to solidify the game plan and make sure we're all still on the same page, make sure we're all rolling in the same direction. This match is going to be about a lot of positive energy and a good work ethic."

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