LYCOMING MEN’S SOCCER UPSETS SUSQUEHANNA TO CLAIM “BOOT”

WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The Lycoming College men’s soccer team pulled off a huge upset, Friday afternoon, defeating Susquehanna University 2-1 in overtime in the third annual “Battle of the Boot”. The loss was the first on the season for the Crusaders, ranked 10^th in the region, dropping their record to 2-1. The victory improved the Warriors’ record to 2-1 also, and brings the traveling “Battle of the Boot” trophy to Williamsport for the first time in the series.

Playing in front of a crowd of nearly 400 fans, the two teams battled back and forth for more than 84 minutes without scoring a goal despite opportunities at both ends. The first break came in the 85^th minute when Lycoming was called for a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick for Susquehanna. Brandon Emery (Sr./West Chester, Pa.; Downingtown) capitalized for the Crusaders placing the ball in the lower right corner to give his team a 1-0 advantage with just five minutes to play.

The Warriors, however, spurred on by the support of their fellow students and fans kept the pressure on, working the ball deep in Susquehanna’s end. That pressure paid off as the Crusaders were forced to foul in the box, giving Lycoming a chance to tie on a penalty kick of their own. Jeff Kocher (So./Churchville, Md.; C. Milton Wright) did exactly that, placing the ball in the lower left corner to knot the game at 1-1 with just three minutes remaining. Neither team found the net again in regulation forcing a sudden-death overtime.

Again the Warriors seemed to gain strength from their fans as they quickly moved the ball into Susquehanna’s end as overtime began. Just 90 seconds into the extra period, Paul Zippel (So./Cherry Hill, N.J.; Cherry Hill) intercepted an attempted clear and sent a brilliant pass forward. Andrew Rampulla (So./Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Cumberland Valley) was on the receiving end of that pass. He deftly moved the ball beyond his defender and found no one between himself and the goalie. Two dribbles later, Rampulla pounded the ball over the outstretched hands of the keeper to win the game.

“Without a doubt this was the best game we’ve played in my four years here,” said Head Coach Scott Kennell. “Susquehanna is a quality team, but we hung in there until our conditioning could pay off for us. This was a huge win for the program and it couldn’t have happened without the support of our fans.”

Jason Fesler (Jr./Carlisle, Pa.; Cumberland Valley) played a tremendous game in goal for Lycoming, making six saves. Ryan Murray (Sr./New Hope, Pa.; Pennington School) made four saves in net for the Crusaders.

The Warriors will play at home again for their next match on Thursday, September 11, when they host Lincoln College. That match will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Lycoming 2, Susquehanna 1
                        1      2        ot     Final
Susquehanna    0      1        0      1
Lycoming          0      1        1      2

Scoring Summary:
SU- Brandon Emery (penalty kick); 85^th min.
LC- Jeff Kocher (penalty kick); 87^th min.
LC- Andrew Rampulla (Paul Zippel); 92^nd min.

Shots: LC-18, SU-16
Corners: LC-4, SU-7
Saves: LC-6, SU-4