10/19/23

FREDERICK, Md. -- Lackawanna College overcame two costly mistakes to salvage a draw on the road against a solid Frederick CC squad, 3-3, on Thursday afternoon in Frederick, MD.
 
The Falcons (7-4-1) blew an early 2-0 advantage when the Cougars scored two goals in the final ten minutes of the first half. The second goal came courtesy of an error at the back from Lackawanna, which Frederick pounced on to tie the game just four minutes before the break. Another error at the back in the first 30 seconds of the second half gave Frederick (7-4-5) the lead at 3-2, and made it so the Falcons were chasing an equalizer the rest of the way.
 
Just when it started to look like the Cougars were going to escape, Lackawanna found the tying goal, thanks to a deflection from the keeper that landed at the feet of Daniel Hayner (First Year; Northumberland, PA), who smashed the ball into the roof of the net from point-blank range to level the score in the 88^th minute.
 
Lackawanna, which outshot Frederick 19-11, and forced 13 saves from the Cougars' keeper, leaped out to an early advantage within the first eleven minutes, getting the opener from Kevin Taipe (First Year; Lima, Peru) in the 9^th minute, and then a second goal, this time from Sebastian Carmona (First Year; Scranton, PA) in the eleventh, quickly giving Lackawanna a 2-0 lead.
 
Eventually, Frederick's work-rate rewarded the Cougars with a goal coming off a short corner, giving the Cougars some life in the 36^th minute that cut into the Falcons lead, and set the stage for the two mistakes that led to Frederick goals on both sides of the halftime whistle.
 
The Falcons conclude their regular season with an unbeaten run in seven of their final eight games, including six straight victories before today's draw. Lackawanna will now turn its attention to the Region XIX playoffs, which start next weekend at Mercer County CC. The Falcons are the #2 seed in the tournament, and will face the #3 seed Massasoit CC out of Massachusetts. That semi-final is set for 12:30pm on Saturday, October 28^th, out at Mercer County's soccer field, and will follow the #1 Mercer County vs. #4 Essex County scheduled beforehand at 10:00am.
 
The winners will play in the Region XIX championship match at noon on Sunday, October 29^th, once again at Mercer County CC.