Crusaders Damage Gophers' Conference Tournament Hopes

TOWSON, Md. -- A second-half offensive outburst from Susquehanna damaged the Goucher men's soccer team's hopes of qualifying for the Landmark Conference tournament, as the Gophers were shutout 3-0 at Beldon Field this afternoon.

All three goals for the Crusaders (11-4-1, 5-2 Landmark) came after the intermission. Goucher (6-7-3, 1-3-2, Landmark) was shutout for the fourth time this season.

There was little between the two squads in the opening 45 minutes, with the Crusaders holding a slim 8-7 lead in shots. Brandon Weiner (Derwood, Md./Col. Zadok A. Magruder) had three of his team-high four shots in the frame, including a header that was sent just wide in the final minute.

Susquehanna opened up the scoring 10 minutes into the second half on a well-executed free kick. Dean Hristopoulos sent a ball in which was deflected off the back foot of David Trank straight to Patrick Fry, who nailed a shot past Nicholas Stolarz (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) into the top left corner.

Gannon Keller doubled Susquehanna's advantage eight minutes later, and Joe DeLuca sealed the match with a shot that snuck in off the left post in the 81st minute.

Goucher's best chance to score came in the 80th minute when Weiner drilled a shot off the post. The rebound went straight to P.J. Vaccarella (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), but his shot also went wide.

Stolarz made three saves in goal for the Gophers, while Kevin Tonkovich (Lacey, N.J./Lacey Twp.) added three shots. Susquehanna ended the contest with an 18-12 edge in shots.

Today's match was the last at home this season for Goucher, and senior defender Matt Fazekas (Potomac, Md./German School) was honored prior to kickoff. Fazekas is one of two Gophers to start all 16 games this year, and with two games left in his Goucher career he has started all 33 games he has appeared in.

The Gophers play their final non-conference match of the season at 7 p.m. this Tuesday when they travel to Gettysburg (3-11-1).