Box Score 9/27/22        
 
NEWTON, NJ – Lackawanna College men's soccer kept its historic start going, winning their fourth straight game with a 3-0 shutout on the road at Sussex County CC on Tuesday afternoon in Newton, NJ.
 
The Falcons (4-0-0) got a pair of goals in the first half from Robert Jarvis Humphreys (Soufriere, Dominica) and Anthony D'Angelis (Holtsville, NY), and then a second half stunner from Willis Smith (Oxford, England) to put things out of reach. Lackawanna outshot their opponent 22-3, with 15 shots on target. Jahdale Givans (Bronx, NY) had three saves for his second clean sheet of the season.
 
It was the Skylanders (0-4-0) who had the early leg up, pressuring the Falcons and winning a corner kick within the first few minutes, but the Falcons were able to repel the Sussex attacks with some timely clearances and tackles in the defensive half.
 
Despite playing on the back heel in the opening minutes, the Falcons were able to begin to probe the Sussex defense, with some booming long balls to try to get the Skylanders defense stretched. Eventually, one of those long balls worked, as D'Angelis booted a ball from the defensive half up the field, where it bounced and ricocheted off the head of a Sussex player and landed at the feet of Humphreys. Jarvis used some skill to send two players the wrong way, then unleashed a left-footed shot that curled just above the keeper to make it 1-0, Falcons, in the 11^th minute.
 
On the restart, the Falcons began to assert their possession and pressure, constantly winning the ball in the midfield and working it into the offensive half. A few chances came, but the Falcons were wasteful up front and in possession, until much later in the first half.
 
In the 40^th minute, a foul gave the Falcons possession just inside their defensive half. A quick restart put the ball on Smith's foot, and he pushed a ball down field into the Sussex box. The ball bounced awkwardly over the keeper's head, allowing D'Angelis to run onto it and walk the ball into the net, putting the Falcons up 2-0, the margin they'd carry into the break.
 
On the restart, the Falcons really began to put the pressure on, holding possession in the offensive zone, peppering the box with crosses and shots. In the 50^th minute, Kevin Andrade (Scranton, PA) won the ball at midfield and made some nifty moves to lose defenders to get the ball up to the front. Ahmed Kaid (Staten Island, NY) slid the ball to Humphreys, who quickly got a through ball into the box back towards Kaid, but the shot didn't have enough power, and the keeper made the save with little fuss.
 
The 52^nd minute saw the Falcons get another goal. A throw in deep in the corner on the left side got the ball to D'Angelis, who swerved through traffic in the box to get off a shot that was parried away by the keeper. The deflected rebound bounced out to Humphreys, who rolled a pass back out to a charging Smith. Smith smashed a right-footed shot into the lower right corner for his first goal of the season, pushing the Lackawanna lead to 3-0.
 
As the second half wore on, the Falcons had a few chances, including some corners that ended in header opportunities, and some great saves from Sussex to keep the deficit at three. The Skylanders did gain a little more traction on offense in the last 20 minutes, but the Falcons defended well, and managed to see out the win.
 
For the first time in the men's soccer program's short history, the Falcons have won four straight games, and are undefeated through their first four games. They'll look to make it five in a row this upcoming Saturday, October 1^st, when they travel to Harrisburg, PA to take on the Hawks of Harrisburg Area CC. The game is set for a 1:00pm ET start, and is the second of a doubleheader with the women's teams starting at 11:00am ET.