Crusaders Halt Greyhounds In Overtime

SELINSGROVE, PA -- A sunny yet windy afternoon at Sassafras Field was the perfect place to see a competitive soccer match on Saturday and that's precisely what happened as Susquehanna outlasted Moravian 3-2 in overtime.

The Moravian men opened scoring 14:36 into the game with a Louis Dollarton goal off a pass from Ryan Hess. A back-and-forth battle for possession would cease scoring until Malek Giet (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) capitalized on a ball from freshman Rhyan Nelson (Manalpan, N.J./St. John Vianney) at 42:53 to end the scoring drought. 

Shortly thereafter Susquehanna was awarded a penalty kick. Taken by Isaac Laubach (Millville, Pa./Millville), the kick was good after the ball found its way to the top left of the cage. The penalty kick was both preceded, and followed by greyhound yellow cards.

Half time came and went, as did ball possession in the second session of play. With 47 seconds remaining on the clock, the game all but over, Hess knotted the game for the greyhounds at one all. With little action on the field, the seconds ticked away and the buzzer sounded only to award another 10 minutes to the scoreboard.

The orange and maroon entered the third period of play starving for redemption; midway through the overtime period they found it. At 94:45, Matt Campbell (Leola, PA/Conestoga Valley) found the foot of Jim Robertiello (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) which in turn directed the ball to an opening in the top right corner of the cage. Sudden victory was in full effect as the game ended with a 3-2 Crusader advantage.

Susquehanna (7-4-2) held a slight 15-14 shot advantage and tallied 11 corners in comparison to Moravian's (4-10) three. Tending the net for the Crusaders, Matt Glackin (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) totaled four saves, while Greyhound Chris Nederostek had three.