ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College men's soccer team closed out the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 31, as the program battled valiantly while dropping a 3-2 decision to Arcadia University on Senior Day at Herbert Field.
Michael Gante netted his first career goal for the Flying Dutchmen, while
Gavin Rapp scored his conference-leading 16th goal of the season.
Before the match, LVC recognized its six seniors:
Tyler Wescott,
Eli Colantoni,
Ben Ammon,
Nathan Kimball,
Charlie Kramer, and
Will Burton.
The Dutchmen (13-3-2, 6-1-1 MAC Freedom) and Knights (8-3-6, 5-0-3 MAC Freedom) went back and forth early in the first half, and LVC had a 5-3 advantage in shots during the first 14:50. During this stretch, Rapp and Kimball both put a shot on goal for Lebanon Valley while goalkeeper
Isaac Yerger made a save. The Flying Dutchmen then opened the scoring 17:46 into the contest, taking a 1-0 lead. The program got on the board when Rapp took a header shot that was deflected by the goalkeeper and went into the lower-left corner of the net for a goal, courtesy of an assist by
Ollie Lynch.
Arcadia responded with a goal by Daniel Altman 20:30 into the first half, tying the game at 1-1. The Knights added another tally just 2:10 later, taking a 2-1 advantage on a goal by Braiden Sottile. The Dutchmen proceeded to outshoot the opposition 3-0 during the rest of the stanza, including a shot on target by Rapp that was saved at the 24:55 mark. Arcadia took its one-goal lead into halftime.
Lebanon Valley attempted the first shot of the second half, as Kimball had a try saved at the 46:52 mark. The Knights followed this with four shots over the next 5:23, including three tries that were blocked by LVC's defense. The Flying Dutchmen then created another scoring chance, as Burton sent a shot off the right post. Arcadia found the net again at the 56:53 mark, going up 3-1 on a goal by Matthew De Luca.
The Dutchmen responded with a goal 62:27 into the contest, narrowing their deficit to 3-2. The program made it a one-goal game when Gante sent his first career goal into the upper-left corner of the net, after an assist by
Dom Beddia. Lebanon Valley proceeded to battle during the remainder of the second half, outshooting the opposition 11-1. During this stretch, Wescott and
Eli Yerger each put a shot on target that was saved, while
Michael Enyeama had two attempts saved. Defensively, goalkeeper
Ryan Simonette tallied a stop for LVC on the shot by Arcadia. Ultimately, the score was maintained through the end of play.
Inside the Box Score
- Rapp netted his conference-leading 16th goal of the season. The sophomore also logged game-highs of five shots and three shots on goal.
- Gante scored his first career goal.
- Lynch dished out his second assist of the campaign on Rapp's goal.
- Beddia tallied his third assist of the fall on Gante's goal.
- Isaac Yerger made two saves.
- Simonette posted a save.
- Lebanon Valley outshot Arcadia 23-14 and had a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal.
- LVC had a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Up Next
The top-seeded Dutchmen will begin postseason competition on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m., in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship semifinal at Herbert Field. LVC will host the winner of the play-in game between fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology and fifth-seeded Misericordia University on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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