The Observer, September 14, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 3
Soccer: men win, women fall at Juniata
As the Case men's soccer team finds itself 4-0 and 5th in a recent national poll, the Case women, 2-2, look to start their own streak after losses to St. Mary's College and Juniata College. Last weekend both soccer teams drove the five hours to Huntingdon, Pa. to face Juniata. The men won, 2-0 and the women lost, 1-0. "We asked them to come to play [at Case] last year and this year it was our turn to go there. It gave us the opportunity to play another game," said men's varsity coach Dan Palmer. The teams left Friday for their games on Saturday.
"It took five hours and the road could have been mistaken for a rollercoaster. We slept in a lodge that had all these stuffed fish on the walls. It was weird, though it is always good to spend some time with the guy's [soccer team]," said junior Caroline Garber.
The men's soccer team beat Juniata College 4-0 in their previous meeting, last Oct. 3.
"Juniata was much improved over last year's squad-they didn't give us anything. They had a size advantage and were very physical and aggressive, effective tactics on their part. Possession of the ball became key with our more skilled players," said Palmer.
Junior RJ French notched the first goal of the game in the 58th minute on an open goal after the ball squirted through Juniata College's goalkeeper's hands.
"It was just ugly. It just took the weight off our shoulders though. After that pre-match uptightness leaves, we just played our game and relaxed a little," said freshman Phil DeBauche.
The insurance goal by French, his fifth on the year, via junior Justin Steggerda at the 81st minute, put the game out of reach for the Eagles, who were blanked by junior goalkeeper Chad Skidmore.
"The second goal was just ripped in there by RJ in the low corner from about 40 yards. He had done in about three defenders too," said freshman Blake Bankwitz.
The men face Tri-State College on Saturday, whom they held scoreless 4-0 a year ago.
"They're going to be a lot better than last year, but then again, so are we," said DeBauche.
The lone goal in the women's match in Huntingdon came in the third minute by Juniata's Sarah Ruggiero.
"This group has done real well with adversity. They just battle. Being down a goal the whole game, they responded well to the challenge. They just make teams earn it, we will get those lucky breaks eventually. Defensively we are strong, the attack needs to be clicking for us to win these close games," said women's coach Tiffany Crooks.
The women also played Mount Union College on Tuesday, resulting in a 4-0 Case victory.
In the 38th minute, freshman Amy Bishara opened the scoring gates with a break-away shot that squeaked past the Mount Union goalie. Twenty-eight seconds later, Garber added the second score of the game.
"We totally caught them off guard [with that play]. We became more relaxed and just fed off the energy. Who knew the second score would come right away," said Bishara.
Garber also scored in the second half along with sophomore Kaitlyn Yule, bringing her season total to three goals. Defensively, the Spartans were suffocating, allowing only seven shots during the contest.
"Coach told us at halftime that we couldn't get comfortable, 2-0 was a difficult position. We just played like it was 0-0 and made the second half look like the first," said Garber.
The Case women played Penn State-Behrend College yesterday, after press-time, and play Sept. 15 at home against the 2-2 (as of Tuesday.) Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets.
