Box Score WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 23, 2023) - Susquehanna men's soccer was dealt a 3-1 defeat at Wilkes in their Landmark Conference opener on Saturday, Sep. 23.
The River Hawks were outshot 21-17 on the day, seeing two goals beat goalkeeper Gerrit Stech in the first half and one in the second. Stech made six saves on the day from nine Wilkes shots on target, all in the first half. The River Hawks had 10 shots to the Colonels' eight in the second half, but the damage was done when they were outshot 13-7 in the first period.
The home side opened the scoring in the 21st minute through Herbert Ramirez, then doubled their advantage just six minutes later in the 27th minute with a goal from Colin Schulmeister. The two goal lead would be initially short-lived, as immediately following kickoff, Christian Bell's long ball found Adrian Dilascio, who teed up Max Paczewski to fire into the top right corner to pull one back for the River Hawks. Paczewski's goal is his third of the season, matching his team-leading tally from a year ago. He also tallied seven shots on the day, leading the team with three of those attempts being on target, including the goal in the 27th minute.
Wilkes re-established their two-goal lead in the second half, with Schulmeister scoring his second of the game in the 82nd minute. They had 11 corners to just 3 for the River Hawks, including eight in the first 45 minutes. Six of the River Hawks' 17 shots were on target, with Colonel goalkeeper Nick Kinzler making five saves. Of those six shots on target, three came from Paczewski, two came from Dilascio, and the final one came from Josh Higgins.
The River Hawks drop to 1-4-2 on the season, with Jim Findlay's team returning home on Tuesday to square off against Immaculata. After that, their next eight games come in Landmark play, including a home match on Family Weekend, Sept. 30, against Landmark newcomers Lycoming.