9/23/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Coming off a narrow defeat against a solid opponent, Lackawanna College men's soccer returns home for an important contest against another PSAC East opponent, as Shippensburg University comes to Northeast PA on Wednesday, September 23^rd. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.
 
Game Details
Who: Shippensburg University Raiders (1-2-3) at Lackawanna College Falcons (0-5-2)
When: Wednesday, September 23^rd, 3:30pm ET
Where: Schautz Stadium; Dunmore, PA
 
Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Video Coverage: Lackawanna College Athletics Network
Fans who cannot attend in-person can watch along live via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network, as well as the PSAC Sports Digital Network.
 
Live stats: https://lackawannafalcons.com/sidearmstats/msoc
Live stats coverage is available and will be updated as the game goes on.
 
Tickets: https://lackawannafalcons.com/tickets
Fans can purchase their game tickets in advance, or via cashless methods in person. There is no cash option for Lackawanna College Athletics tickets.
 
The Falcons
Lackawanna (0-5-2) played a solid game against another strong PSAC East opponent for 80 minutes, but the Shepherd Rams found their go-ahead goal in the 84^th minute on a ball in the box that found one head, and then another, putting the Rams up. The Falcons nearly tied the match in the 88^th minute, but the shot hit the corner post and bounced away. Shepherd outshot the Falcons, 20-9, with seven shots on target and ten corners. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
Miguel Pereira (Revere, MA) had a pair of shots, including the one that hit the woodwork, while Jonathan Cuellar (El Paso, TX) had three shots, one on target. Michael Hoy (Mechanicsburg, PA) also had a shot on frame. Rowin Thomas (Abilene, TX) had six saves.
 
On the season, the Falcons have given up 13 goals and scored two in six games this year. Lackawanna has 63 shots, 25 on target (.397), with their opponents posting 99 shots, 31 on target (.313). The Falcons have 21 corner kicks, while their opponents have 46 corners this year.
 
Cristian Lopez-Contreras (Guatemala) has the assist on each goal for the Falcons, and the goal scorers are Pereira and Aydin Boyunegmez (Millville, PA). Boyunegmez's goal came against Berkeley on September 5^th, a header off a free kick from Lopez-Contreras. Pereira's goal came in the draw against King's College. Lopez-Contreras leads the team with nine shots and five on target, while Wisdom Afrani (Accra, Ghana) also has nine shots, three on target. Tito Tokunboh-Salako (Columbia, MD) has eight total shots this season, and Pereira has six shots on the season.
 
In between the pipes, Kevin Nievas (West Palm Beach, FL) has four saves and has started in the first four games for the Falcons. Thomas has 15 saves this year and has made five appearances, starting the last three games for the Falcons. His season-high six stops came against Shepherd.
 
Lackawanna College is coached by Will Flannery, in his first season at the helm and who took over the program in February earlier this calendar year.
 
In seven months, Flannery has re-energized the squad with a strong professional work ethic that emphasizes accountability and team culture, and the Falcons will field a team with young, talented players at nearly all positions.
 
The Raiders
Shippensburg (1-2-3) enters the contest winless in its last three match-ups. The Raiders, after a 3-1 win at home against Bloomsburg two weeks ago, dropped a 2-0 contest at home to West Chester, then fell last week to Shepherd on the road, 2-1. Most recently, Shippensburg was held to a draw with visiting Slippery Rock this past weekend. The game featured one goal for either side, both coming within four minutes of each other. Shippensburg got ahead on a long ball that went over the backline, allowing a one-touch chip over the keeper to put the Raiders in front in the 73^rd minute. Slippery Rock replied four minutes later on a corner in the 77^th, heading home the set piece to tie the game. Slippery Rock outshot the Raiders, 19-9, and had eleven corners vs. the four for Shippensburg.
 
Shippensburg has scored eight goals this season, while allowing nine. The Raiders have 73 shots, and their opponents have 76. Shippensburg has slightly more shots on target (39-33), and has a better overall SOG percentage (.534 vs. .434). Ship's opponents have 37 corners, while the Raiders have 28 this season.
 
Sophomore Julius Dogan has a pair of goals, both coming in the first two games of the year against Cal U (PA) and Chestnut Hill. He has not scored in four games since. He had two shots, both on target, against Slippery Rock. Dogan is a native-born German, from Paderborn.
 
Junior defender Nate Herb has a pair of goals this season, both coming in the win against Bloomsburg two weeks ago, all part of the 3-1 triumph. Herb had one shot in the draw with Slippery Rock. Herb was an All-PSAC East Division second team selection as a defender, scoring four goals from his defensive spot and starting in all 16 games for the Raiders a year ago.
 
First-year midfielder Zac Slevin has two goals this season, scoring against Bloomsburg and in the loss to Shepherd last Wednesday. Slevin did not record a shot against Slippery Rock, but has at least one shot in four of six games placed this season.
 
Senior keeper Ryan Krumenacker has started and played every minute of the six contests for Shippensburg this season. Krumenacker has given up nine goals in six games, with 24 saves on the season. He posted his season-best seven saves twice this season, doing so in the loss to West Chester on September 12^th, and then once again in the last game against Slippery Rock this past weekend.
 
The head coach is Jeremy Spering, now in his 18^th season in charge of the Raiders. Spering took over a program desperate for change, and, after a pair of one-win seasons, he brought that with a school-record 14-win campaign in 2010. The Raiders won the PSAC that season and made the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Spering has a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in his time at Shippensburg, and won double-digit games again in 2018, going 10-3-4 and making the PSAC quarterfinals. Before arriving at Shippensburg in 2008, Spering was an assistant at Gettysburg College on the women's side in Division III. Before that, he was a three-year member of the men's soccer staff at James Madison University, where he picked up a master's degree in exercise physiology. Spering is a PSAC alum, graduating from Slippery Rock in 2002, where he was a two-year starter for The Rock. He got his coaching start at the college level when he was a volunteer assistant for two seasons, while also serving as head coach at Knoch Area and Slippery Rock Area in the high school ranks.
 
The Raiders were picked to finish sixth in the PSAC East this year, but coach Spering believed his team had more depth this year than in years past.
 
Next
Next up, the Falcons will travel to St. David's, PA, for an exhibition event against NCAA Division III member, Eastern University. Kickoff is set for 2:00pm ET on Saturday, September 26^th.