10/11/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's soccer will look to rebound after a tough loss on the road earlier this week with a matchup against a former Region XIX foe, Bucks County CC, this Saturday, October 12^th, at home.
 
The game is set for an 11:00am ET kickoff at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore. Admission is free and open to the public. There will be a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (1-4-0) fell in its last match, a 13-0 loss on the road at #10 NJCAA DI Harcum College. The Bears scored inside the first six minutes, held a 4-0 lead after 21 minutes, and cruised to the win from there.
 
Through five games, Lackawanna has faced 108 shots, 89 on target, while putting up 38 shots of its own. Falcons' keepers have a combined 53 saves this year. The Falcons have scored eight goals, while giving up 33 so far this year.
 
Sophomore striker Sebastian Carmona (Scranton, PA) has four goals and two assists this season to lead the team. Carmona had a pair of goals in the win against Northampton last weekend, scoring a goal on either side of halftime. He also had an assist in the first half of the win. His other assist came against Union last week, assisting a free kick goal in the 5-2 loss to the Owls. He was named as the EPAC DII Men's Soccer Player of the Week for his efforts last week. Seba is one of the top scorers from last year's squad, where he had nine goals for the Falcons in 12 appearances. Carmona also had a pair of assists. The forward really didn't get going until his eighth appearance, scoring a hattrick in a win against Union. Carmona scored at least a goal in his last five regular season contests, and had another hattrick, scoring three in a 7-1 at PSU Schuylkill.
 
Another player expected to step up for the Falcons is returning Region XIX Player of the Year, Guillermo Ramírez (Valencia, Venezuela). Ramírez had four goals and an assist last season and was the main player that held down the quality midfield for the Falcons a year ago. Ramírez has mostly played in his midfield spot, but he did a spell at keeper against Union in the first half on Thursday night.
 
Also back is sophomore Ermir Hoti (Gjakova, Kosovo), who led last year's team with ten goals and four assists. Hoti is a dead ball striker extraordinaire, and he managed most of the free kick and corner kick opportunities for the Falcons a year ago. His best game last season came against Elmira College JV, where he scored four goals. This season, Hoti has a goal and two assists, all coming in his last two games. His goal came on a free kick against Union on Thursday. His assist was a long through ball that found Carmona in the first half against Northampton.
 
First-year midfielder Nahuel Minis (Old Forge, PA) has two goals and an assist this season, all coming in the last two games. Minis scored a nice half-volley strike against Union last Thursday off a free kick pass from Hoti, then followed that up with an excellent strike from the top of the box against Northampton last Saturday, curling a shot into the top left corner of the net. Minis recorded his assist in the loss to Essex earlier this season.
 
First-year midfielder Alexandro Velazquez (Wilkes-Barre, PA) got on the scoresheet with a goal and an assist this past weekend against Northampton. His goal came only three minutes into the contest, when he kept possession along the touchline, darted to his right, and slotted a shot past the Northampton keeper. His assist came in the second half, when he took the ball down the right side of the pitch, then crossed it back towards the goal, where Carmona ran onto it and poked it home.
 
Sophomore Tyler Pepsin (Old Forge, PA) had a goal and three assists last season. He'll switch to more of a hybrid role as a winger/midfielder for the Falcons this season. He has an assist this year, coming on a venture down the left side of the pitch and a subsequent cross that led to the Carmona goal in the loss to Monroe CC.
 
Sophomore Sebastian Charles (Bethesda, MD) played sparingly last year, due to injury, but the big guy who will man the middle of the defense is back for the Falcons, healthy and ready to roll. Charles isn't the only one coming back from injury, as the Falcons will also have the services of defender Jordan Artmont (Dallas, PA), who missed all last season with injury, and is healthy for the Falcons.
 
In goal, Aldo Vargas (Scranton, PA) returns for the Falcons. He has 48 saves through his first two games, facing heavy pressure from the opposition. Vargas played sparingly last season as keeper and will be stepping into a starting role for the Lackawanna this year. Vargas had seven saves in the win against Northampton. He had 15 saves against Harcum on Wednesday.
 
The interim head coach is Danny Berg, who is also the Coordinator of Athletic Operations and Fundraising for Lackawanna College Athletics. Berg has been with the College for nearly 20 years, and was hired as the first-ever women's soccer coach in the mid 2000's. On top of his duties with the Falcons, Berg spent a few seasons as the head boys and girls soccer coach at Valley View HS.
 
About Bucks County CC
The Centurions (5-6-1) have had an up-and-down season, going never stringing more than one win in a row yet this season, and even their longest streak of any result has been two losses back on September 12^th and 14^th. Bucks most recently played Manor College to a scoreless draw on Thursday, October 10^th. Before that, they had a 3-2 win at home against Williamson Trade on September 30^th, so it had been a ten-day layoff between games.
 
Bucks has scored 19 goals and given up 23 so far this season. The Centurions have three clean sheets and three more games where opponents have scored one goal or less. They have put 81 of their 165 shots on target, while giving up 162 shots this season, 73 on frame. Centurion keepers have 61 saves this season.
 
First-year forward Levi Morris is first on the team with seven goals and two assists this season. Morris has 39 shots, 25 of which have been on target. Morris has had two games with two goals, scoring a pair in a 5-0 win at Delaware County CC back on September 17^th, and scoring two more in a 4-2 win against Patrick Henry College on September 21^st. That was part of a five-goal stretch in three games. He has not scored in his last three matches.
 
Junior defender Carlos Hernandez has scored four goals this season, putting an efficient 8-of-18 shots on target this year. Hernandez scored four goals in his last five games, entering the Manor game on Thursday. He scored two goals in the 3-2 win against Williamson Trade back on September 30^th.
 
Sophomore midfielder Aiden Perry has four goals and two assists this year, putting 12 of 21 shots on frame. Perry scored two goals and an assist in the 5-0 win at Delaware County back on 9/17, then scored a goal and assisted another in the win against Williamson Trade on 9/30.
 
First-year midfielder Raphael Fernandes has three goals and two assists this year, with ten of 21 shots on target this season. Fernandes had a pair of goals in a 3-0 win against PSU Scranton back on September 5^th. He did not score against Williamson.
 
The Centurions have tried a few different keepers, but the main stopper has been sophomore Mohammed Samim Poya. Poya has six starts in nine games, allowing 12 goals, a 1.67 goals against average, with 41 saves this year. Entering the Manor game, Poya's best performance was 15 saves in a 2-1 win at Manor back on September 10^th.
 
The other keeper with plenty of experience this year is first-year player David Samuel. Samuel has made two starts in five appearances, allowing three goals and making six saves in that span. Samuel has had three separate games with two saves, including getting the win against Williamson Trade with two saves on 9/30.
 
The head coach is Justin Burroughs, who has overseen the Centurions since 2005. He's in his 20^th year with the program, and this is his 19^th active season. Burroughs is a seven-time conference coach of the year, including five times in the EPAC when the Centurions competed in the NJCAA. Bucks went from a three-win program in 2004 to a perennial playoff threat, with Burroughs transforming the program into an eight-time conference champion across the EPCC, the PCAA, the EPAC, and now the ESAC. Before his time at Bucks, Burroughs spent years in the youth coaching levels of soccer, helping with the West End Soccer Association in New Jersey by coaching teams ranging from U-11 to U-19. He also worked as a support specialist with the Philadelphia Union youth camps throughout PA. He played four years of soccer at Monmouth University, where he was a four-year starter and graduated with a business degree. Burroughs has a record of 177-109-15 at Bucks County and is the all-time winningest coach in school history.
 
The Matchup
The match between Lackawanna and Bucks County is set for an 11:00am ET kickoff at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Saturday, October 12^th. Admission is free and open to the public. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.  
 
Lackawanna is on the road in its next contest, taking on the County College of Morris on Tuesday, October 15^th. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm ET in Randolph, NJ.