Scranton Falls At USMMA, 2-1, In Double OT

KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The University of Scranton men’s soccer team faced the Landmark Conference’s top team on the road on Saturday and came away with a tough 2-1 loss in double overtime against Merchant Marine Academy at Brooks Stadium.

The loss leaves the Royals (9-5-2, 3-3-1 Landmark) in a four-way tie for fourth place with Elizabethtown, Goucher and Moravian. All four teams have 10 points with one conference game remaining. Merchant Marine leads the conference with 18 points, followed by Catholic (16) and Drew (13).

Scranton took a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute when senior forward Kevin Kozic (Raritan, N.J./Immaculata) headed home a perfect pass by sophomore midfielder Michael Bergen (Newtown, Pa./The Pennington School). It was Kozic’s team-leading sixth goal of the season while Bergen picked up his fourth assist, which also leads the team.

The Mariners (10-7-1, 6-2 Landmark) answered in the 71st minute on a goal by freshman midfielder Alex Niemann (Valadie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane).

The game stayed tied at 1 through the first overtime before Merchant Marine won it in the 103rd minute when sophomore forward Gavin Yingling (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) scored his conference-leading seventh goal of the season.

The Mariners held a 10-7 edge in shots, including 3-0 in the overtime periods, and had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Hintz (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) had three saves in the loss for Scranton.

The Royals are back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when they travel to Oneonta, N.Y. to face fourth-ranked Oneonta State at 3 p.m.

--ROYALS--