HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (Sept. 16, 2017)- Senior
Justin White (Minehill, N.J. / Dover) notched his first goal of the season as the Centenary University men's soccer team couldn't hold off a second half rally from Eastern University in a 2-1 loss on Saturday afternoon.
Billy Walenda and Jadon Ramsing each scored a goal for the Eagles who improve to 5-1 overall. Junior
Devon Warne (Belvidere, N.J. / Belvidere) made seven saves for the Cyclones who fall to 0-4-1 overall.
Centenary was dominated by the more aggressive Eastern in the first half as the Eagles outshot the Cyclones, 11-3 in the opening stanza. Despite those numbers, the game remained scoreless at intermission.
In the second half, both teams finally got on the scoreboard with the Cyclones striking first. White earned a penalty kick after being fouled inside the box. The senior calmly stepped up and nailed the PK to give Centenary a 1-0 advantage. The Cyclones did their best to keep Eastern out of the net as freshman
Eric Nugent (Dublin, Ireland / St Joseph's Secondary) made a diving save in the 61
st minute to prevent the Eagles from tying the contest.
Eastern finally responded in the 70
th minute, when Walenda scored on an assist from Jacob Meyers to even the game at 1-1. The Eagles dominated on corner kicks, earning 12 for the entire contest. That would prove to be the Cyclones downfall as Eastern notched the game-winner off a corner kick in the 82
nd minute.
Centenary almost evened the contest at 2-2, but a header from senior
Richy Castro (Landing, N.J. / Roxbury) was called off sides with less than 30 seconds to play.
Cade Harmon and Sam Sutherland tallied a game-high four shots, while Jake Sankey took three for EU. Quentin Keibler earned the victory and made three saves in the process.
White, freshman
Daisuke Suzuki (Yokohama, Japan / Toin Gakuen) and Nugent each took two shots, while juniors
Chris Cameron (Waldwick, N.J. / Waldwick),
Roger Fernandez (Succcasunna, N.J. / Roxbury) and
Jared Miele (Flanders, N.J. / Mount Olive) each tallied one apiece.
Head Coach
Keith O'Connor and the Cyclones will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 20
th, hosting the Devils of FDU-Florham at 4:00 p.m.
