Box Score 10/8/22

SCRANTON, Pa. -- In the de facto Region XIX Division II championship match, Lackawanna College kept things tight for almost 75 minutes against the nationally ranked Mercer County CC Vikings, but the pressure eventually won out, and Mercer added three late goals to pull away with a 4-0 victory at Schautz Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss for the Falcons (4-1-0) was the first of the season. Jahdale Givans (Bronx, NY) was outstanding in goal for Lackawanna College, making 22 saves. The Vikings had 26 shots on target and nine corners, really putting the Falcon defense to the screws.
 
The first half saw Mercer immediately go to work on pressuring the Falcons, winning the ball in the midfield at will, and probing the flanks against the Lackawanna defense. Eventually, that pressure won the Vikings a penalty in the 17^th minute, when a tackle in the box was late for Lackawanna. The Vikings converted from the penalty spot, making it a 1-0 game.
 
The Falcons tried to play the long ball a little more, but still couldn't quite get it out of the midfield. The Vikings almost made it 2-0 in the 28^th minute with a nifty cut inside from the right side, but the shot went wide of the target. Another big chance came in the 36^th minute, when a breakaway towards the Falcon goal was parried wide by Givans in a 1v1 situation. The biggest chance for the Vikings came in the 45^th minute, when Givans pushed one shot wide, then dove to block another attempt to keep it 1-0 heading into the break.
 
The second half saw the game open up a little more, with Mercer holding the majority of the chances and possession, but the Falcons beginning to go forward a little more. The first big chance came in the 69^th minute, when, off a Viking set piece just outside the box, Givans dove low to block a deflection, and the ball caromed out to Willis Smith (Oxford, England) who booted it clear of the box. The lead was doubled just a minute later, however, when Mercer turned the Falcons over, countered quickly down the left side, and scored on a quick cross to the middle to make it 2-0. It was the first goal the Falcons had given up all year from open play. Mercer added two more goals in the final seven minutes against an exhausted Falcon defense to make it comfortable at 4-0.
 
Lackawanna College gets back to action on Tuesday, October 11^th, when the Falcons travel to Harrisburg to take on Harrisburg Area CC. The match is the second game of a doubleheader, scheduled to start at 5:00pm ET. The women's teams will play first at 3:00pm ET.