Box Score On Wednesday night, the Susquehanna men's soccer team
officially kick-starts its 2010 campaign. The Crusaders are looking
to get back to the championship form from two years ago when they
captured the 2008 Landmark title, the first-ever Landmark title in
program history.
Thirteenth-year head coach
Jim Findley will
do his best to make sure SU remains in the hunt for another
championship this fall. All four of his top goal scorers are back,
with All-League player
Jim Robertiello
'11 at the top of that list. Robertiello led
the team in goals (5) and assists (4) in his 17 games of action.
Joining him as goal-scoring threats is
Joey Stellato
'12, who netted four goals, and
Austin
Gordon '12 and
Shane Atha
'11, who both added three goals apiece.
Senior goalie B.J. Merriam played in 11 of
SU's 17 games last year and finished the season with a .736
save percentage and a 1.76 goals-against average. A pair of
sophomore goalkeepers in Thomas Walsh '13
and Pat Horan '13 also saw playing time last
year, with Horan starting seven games and picking up two shutouts.
That trio gives SU plenty of experience in the net.
Also back in the mix is All-League player Brandon
Eisenhart '11 who started 16 of 18 games and
finished with one goal and two assists from the midfield position.
Eisenhart was also solid on the defensive end as SU recorded three
shutouts on the season.
Defenders Bobby Long '11 and
Andrew Brill '11 both played in all 18 games
with 16 and 17 starts, respectively, giving the Crusaders valuable
experience in the back for the 2010 season.
Susquehanna was picked to finish fifth in the Landmark Preseason
Poll with 57 points after going 7-10-1 overall in 2009 with a 3-4
conference mark. However, with 10 starters back, SU has the talent
and experience to exceed any preseason expectations.
Catholic University took the number one spot in the poll,
followed by Merchant Marine Academy, Scranton and Drew in the two
through four spots.
After playing its first three games of the fall on the road,
Susquehanna will open its home season on Sept. 10 against Lycoming
in the Battle of the Boot. Other key home matches include
back-to-back conference games against Scranton (Oct. 2) and Goucher
(Oct. 9). The season wraps up on Oct. 30 when the Crusaders play
host to conference opponent Drew on Senior Day.
