The Misericordia men's soccer team recorded their first big victory of the 2009 season by defeating nationally-ranked John Carroll 1-0 this afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.
It was a tense game with few chances for either team, but junior
Joey Scanlon made his count. After taking in a great pass from senior midfielder
Cody Harman, Scanlon held off a defender and slotted into the corner 17 minutes into the second half.
Amazingly, it was the first goal given up by John Carroll goalkeeper
Mike Telzrow in over 520 minutes of play this year.
A fantastic defensive effort by the Cougars denied #24-ranked JCU a shot on goal all game. Starting backs
Chris Hummel,
Tyler Anderson,
Greg Korhonen and
Bryan Kulbacki were instrumental in keeping the Blue Streak attackers at bay. Goalkeeper
Andrew Loyd recorded his first shutout of the season.
Perhaps the only great chance for JCU came when Harman cleared a cross just over the crossbar with three minutes to play.
An even first half was played mostly in the middle third of the field. MU out-shot the Blue Streaks 4-1, and John Carroll held a 2-0 advantage in corners, but neither side really threatened during the opening period.
The only real chance of the first half came four minutes in, when freshman
Nick Ferguson cut by a defender in the box but put his shot over from within ten yards.
With the victory, the Cougars (3-3-2) achieved a .500 record for the first time this fall. MU will host Lebanon Valley on Wednesday before beginning their defense of the Freedom Conference title against Manhattanville next weekend.
Joey Scanlon Game-Winning Goal (62nd Minute):
