The Misericordia University men's soccer team never could get it's offense going, dropping a 2-0 decision to Juniata in its final non-conference game of the regular season Wednesday afternoon at McGeehan Field.
 
After a slow start, the Cougars found their stride in the first half. MU's closest look came in the 18^th minute, when Nick vonEgypt headed a service toward goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over. Despite controlling possession of the game and jumping out to a 13-4 advantage in total shots and a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal, the Cougars never found the back of the net, and the teams went into halftime tied at 0-0.
 
“I thought we didn't come out with the right kind of energy in the first ten minutes of the half,” said MU head coach Chuck Edkins.  “We took the game back very quickly and really controlled possession well for the remainder of the half. I thought that we did a good job of getting around the outside- which was our gameplan- but our services came up empty today.”
 
The game remained scoreless until the 75^th minute, when Juniata's Greg Hess took advantage of an MU foul and bent a direct kick past Dan Fritz to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
 
In the 85^th minute, the Eagles once again took advantage of a direct kick off a restart, as Chandler Steffen poked a ball past Fritz off a rebound.
 
Edkins gave high praise to the Eagles' defense in the loss.
 
“I thought that they were very organized defensively,” he said. They did a great job of congesting the middle of the field, and I thought that their goalkeeper did a great job, both with his play and with his communication. They did a good job of isolating Bush and vonEgypt and keeping them from getting looks. Offensively, they were very patient and took advantage of their opportunities.”
 
The Cougars will look to turn things around on Saturday when they travel to Manhattanville for a match with significant postseason implications.
 
“Fortunately for us, tonight has no implications on our Freedom outlook,” Edkins said. “We still control our own destiny. If we come out on Saturday with the mental toughness and energy of which I know we're capable, we'll be in a good position to get the result that we want.”
 
With a win or a tie on Saturday, the Cougars would earn the #1-seed in the upcoming Freedom Conference tournament, while a loss would drop them to the #2-seed. The game is slated to begin at 3:30 PM.