Etown vs Susquehanna: Commonwealth Conference Championship

Saturday November 4th
Elizabethtown College Blue Jays vs Susquehanna University Crusaders
7:00 pm Sassafras Field
Conditions: It’s the Frozen Tundra of Sassafras Field.

Starting 11

Etown 10-5-2 (overall) 3-3-1 (conference)
GK- AJ Fleisher
3- Jeff Warusz
4- Michael "Sunshine" Terry
5- Mike Helsel
7- Mike McCabe
8- Brennan Reichenbach
11- Wes Bunting
14- Rick "King Richard" Winstanley
16- Bryan Holt
25- Owen Friedrich
27- Zach Galbraith
Coach- Skip Roderick (24th year 400-91-41)

Susquehanna 10-7-2 (overall) 4-3-0 (conference)
GK- Austin Kelsey
2- Isaac Laubach
3- Philip Smeltz
6- Matthew Gawlas
7- Matthew Campbell
10- Seth Baughman
13- Nate Snyder
14- Justin Makar
17- Ralph Larsen
19- Ryan Rispoli
22- Bill Morgan
Coach- Jim Findlay (9th year 74-80-5)

Pre-game notes: 47-0-1...that is the Jays all-time mark against the Crusaders. Some would consider this a "jinxing statement," to that I reply you haven’t been a Blue Jay fan for very long. Every single time these two teams get together, regardless of circumstance, this outstanding stat is brought up. However the past couple times these two teams have hooked up, they’ve provided a very intense exciting game of soccer. With the exception of Messiah (the playoff game, not the Marshmallow Game) this is the most excited I’ve been for a game all season. I’m pretty familiar with Susquehanna, and fairly close with several of their players. Isaac Laubach is my best friends little brother, and one of the best soccer players I’ve ever played with...he plays on the back line for the Crusaders and is very solid through the air. Although I am desperately pulling for a Blue Jay victory, there’s no one I’d rather see succeed tonight more than Isaac. Austin Kelsey is a fine goalie. I feel he’s been underused in the platoon system that Susquehanna employs, but he’s definitely capable of making big saves. One more key player for the Crusaders is senior Nate Snyder, the former MAC Co-Rookie of the Year has a nose for the goal and despite having a less than desirable year, he has to be someone the Blue Jay defense keys on. On the Etown side, after Tuesdays 1-0 win over hated rival Messiah, I’d say the Blue Jays are flying higher than any other team in the nation in terms of momentum and spirit. AJ’s been on a roll and the Blue Jay defense is looking rock solid. The only question is will Wes still be a prominent factor in the air despite the 12 stitches he received from those nice, upstanding boys from Grantham? Bottom line though, (as it’s been all season), if someone steps up on the offensive end, the Jays defense is strong enough to hold any lead.

1st: Etown faithful traveling well and making their presence felt with that SU cheer that never goes out of style "Suck My Hanna"

1st: Hard foul on Snyder right outside the box...low driven ball sent in but no trouble as it’s cleared out by Blue Jay defense.

3rd: Etown Corner....McCabe sends it right into Kelsey’s hands.

5th: Susquehanna with a seemingly innocent free kick at mid-field but it falls in the box at Laubach’s feet...his shot beats the Etown defense but trickles just past the post.

6th: It’s cold.

8th: Warusz is sprung free on a breakaway and fires a shot but it’s easily handled by Kelsey.

9th: Helsel gets the ball down in the corner and sends a nice ball across the goal mouth....McCabe beats his defender and gives a cheeky flick past Kelsey and into the back of the net....GOAL! 1-0 Etown.

10th: After 10 minutes of false hope I realize that I won’t be able to continue typing with my hands in my pockets.

12th: Etown faithful starts singing dirty English soccer chants...It’s incredibly offensive and I love it.

15th: Makar with a tremendous shot, but AJ just tips it over the bar... out for a corner.

15th: SU corner...Dangerous ball, but Owen rises above the pack to clear it out.

19th: Susquehanna and Etown Fans are standing right next to each and yelling loudly...this is truly a great soccer atmosphere.

21st: SU free kick from 45 out...headed up in the air, but AJ comes out of nowhere to snag it out of the skies.

22nd: King Richard with a tough English tackle to break up an SU breakaway....that’s just how they breed ‘em over there.

23rd: Baughman with a tough tackle on the far sideline and the ref shows him a yellow.

25th: Helsel fights through his man...but ref calls a foul. If he thought that tackle was a foul, I’m worried that King Richard may pick up at least 3 red cards this game

27th: Ball heading straight for my computer and out of nowhere comes Matt Diller to save my life and my blog...God bless you Dills.

29th: Etown- Diller for Warusz.

29th: SU- Eric Baltimore and Dan Husko for Smeltz and Campbell.

30th: SU free kick sent into the box but a Crusader player is whistled for going over the back.

32th: Both my big toes are numb.

34th: Mark Richter for Baughman

36th: SU- Ed Lamy for Larsen...Etown- James Runyon and Josh Hoffman for Diller and McCabe...this is Hoffman’s first action since breaking his foot against Lebanon Valley on September 30th.

37th: SU corner...Richter sends it in but a Crusader heads it away from goal.

38th: SU- Malek Giet for Snyder.

38th: Hels anf Runyon with some nice combo work in the corner.

38th: Hoffman with the ball on the far wing, sends a beatiful cross in the box...Helsel beats his defender and volleys it out of the air top shelf to beat Kelsey.....GOAL! 2-0 Etown...prettiest goal I’ve seen from the boys all year.

40th: SU- Ian Hutchinson for Gawlas....Etown- Dirty Dan Flaherty for Helsel.

43rd: Hoffman wide open 20 yards out drills a shot...unfortunately it hits Runyon square in the leg....even more unfortunate is that it’s negative 2-million degrees outside...As a result, James hates Hoffman.

End of Half....2-0 Etown.

First Half Recap: WOW! Great half of soccer for the Jays...However I can hear Skip yelling from the bench, "A two goal lead is like kissing your sister"...Hopefully those wise words will continue to bring inspired play from the boys in blue. As the stats will show, SU had some chances, they just couldn’t convert. Blue Jays definitely need to keep pressing in the second half. Also of note, I just got word from WWEC’s Jim Pollak that our girls defeated Messiah 1-0 AT GRANTHAM to capture the womens conference championship. Great win ladies! Jim was especially excited for this news, because his girlfriend is on the womens team, and now he says he is definitely going to "get some" tonight....whatever that means.

Stats at the Half-
Shots 5-4 Etown
Corner 3-3
Saves 2-2
Fouls 12-9
Body parts that are frozen and not in use: 7

Start of 2nd: At the half, I was seriously contemplating sticking my tongue to the metal pole behind the scorers table...however, I was unable to move because my bum was still frozen to the luxurious and comfy metal bench that the University of Susquehanna has provided me on this sub-arctic November night...Cheers!

48th: I hear an air-horn from the SU student section, and I’m pretty sure if duck calls are illegal during conference playoffs, so are air-horns...paging Nancy Latimore.

50th: Holt pulls a spin move that could probably land him a contract in the Premier League....but McCabe is off-sides...DOH!

51st: Susquehanna with a couple dangerous looks up close....ball knocked out for SU corner.

51st: Corner easily covered by AJ.

52nd: I just talked to a polar bear. He said it was too cold and he’s heading back to the North Pole.

53rd: SU- Makar for Baltimore

55th- Etown- Andrew Sinclair for Runyon...SU- Baughman and Rispoli for Richter and Campbell.

58th: After a boisterous first half...Etown fans have quieted down a bit.

60th: Etown- Warusz for McCabe and Diller for Sinclair.

61st: I haven’t made a meaningful entry in several minute...not because there’s nothing going on, but more so because I can’t feel either of my hands.

65th: Warusz with a great diving slide to save the ball...but the ref calls it out....Bollocks.

67th: SU with a great chance from 19 yds out, but the shot by Baughman is high wide and not at all handsome.

70th: Etown- McCabe and Pete Moore for Owen and Warusz...SU- Kyle Elsenbaumer for Smelthz.

72nd: SU- Baltimore for Laubach.

75th: We’ve just notched our 23rd foul....we’re a bunch of uncouth barbarians.

75th: SU- Laubach for Baughman and Smeltz for Larsen....Etown- Runyon for Diller.

77th: Holt does a great job to win a tackle then Larsen slides in hard....ref gives a yellow.

78th: Susquehanna with the ball in our third...Skips excitedly exclaims, "Oh my god everybody’s open!"....that’s never a good thing to hear from your head coach.

80th: Etown- Owen for Pete.

81st: Crusaders never say die...Richter with a close shot...Gawlas tries to deflect it in but it sails just wide.

83rd: Etown- Warusz for McCabe.

84th: Runyon with a nice shot from point blank...nice save by Kelsey.

85th: Runyon with the ball again, this time he breaks out the double step-over...and although no one was faked out...he looked awful good doing it.

86th: Etown- Sinclair for Runyon.

88th: Crusaders keep up the pressure with a ball deep into the box....but AJ still playing strong.

88th: Etown- Brain Raveling for Sinclair.

End of Game... 2-0 Etown!

Final Stats:
Shots 10-10
Corners 7-5 Etown
Fouls 31-16
Saves: 3-3

Man of the Match: Mike Helsel
Buffalo Bills Award: AJ Fleisher

End of Game Recap: Impressive victory for the Blue Jays....Everyone was playing well and in-sync....If we play like this in the tourney, it could be fun. AJ deservedly wins Conference Tournament MVP. I apologize for the lack of blogging in the second half...at first I thought I was turning Blue with pride for my Jays, but then I realized it was probably something a little more realistic, like hypothermia or frostbite. Oh well...Blue Jays pull it off and are headed to the NCAA TOURNAMENT!!!!!

Next Up:
Seedings for the Tournament aren’t released until late Sunday Night...As soon as I catch wind, you, my faithful blog readers, will be the first to know.