Jerry ZurekMen’s soccer cleaned house in their Pennsylvania Athletic Conference games against Marywood with a final score of 4-0 and Immaculata with a result of 2-0. These games shifted their record to 4-10-2 overall and 2-5 in the PAC.
The teams met in the rain more than two hours outside of Cavalier country at Marywood on Oct. 11. Sixteen minutes into the game, No. 9, Brent Benner, was taken down inside the box, granting the Cavaliers a penalty kick. Benner hit the back of the net making the score 1-0 early in the first half.
The second goal came only six minutes later when No. 4, Joe Rotan, scored his seventh goal of the season, taking a pass from Benner and Barry Magagna, No. 2. Benner attacked the net again with three minutes remaining in the first half, taking a pass from No. 28, sophomore forward Ryan Kirby.
After the half, Brendan McCauley, No. 11 and sophomore midfielder, came out with a vengeance. McCauley raided Marywood’s defense and the net after a cross from Benner for his second goal of the year.
Senior goalkeeper Andrew Brady picked up his first shut-out of this season. His game included 10 saves.
Rotan earned his seventh goal of the season and also has three assists. Benner also has seven goals and five assists. In Cabrini’s last five games, Benner has scored and is credited with six of the last nine Cavalier goals.
The Oct. 13 nonleague match against Ursinus was postponed because of rain and has been rescheduled for Oct. 24 at 3:30.
On Oct. 15, Cabrini went on the road again to Immaculata. Benner put both goals in, first in the lower left corner from 25 yards out, after losing his defender. The second goal came first off of Brendan McCauley’s head, then to feet of Benner to make the score 2-0.
Much can be said for Immaculata’s goalkeeper, Dave O’Neill, because Cabrini out-shot them 37-7. Immaculata is still young, with one sophomore and the rest freshmen in the new program. Their bench was very thin, with only three players available for substitution.
Late in the second half, two heads collided, sending one Immaculata player to the hospital for stitches and Kevin McDevitt to the trainer for a smaller cut.
Cabrini’s goalie, Colin Hinkelmon, got his second career shut-out, only having to make seven saves because of the help from the defense.
Coach Jaskelewicz had three goals for the men during the week of October 10. The first goal was to get their first PAC win, and the men delivered two.
The second goal was to get their first home win. This could not be accomplished because of the rain. The game was scheduled for Oct. 13 originally but pushed back to Oct. 24.
The last goal was to get through three games without another injury. The men delivered again and actually seemed to get healthier. Sam Robinson was seen playing without his brace that he had been wearing in previous games. Captain Ian McDonald still could not play, but was seen on the sidelines helping coach the men on the field.
The coach was very proud of the team and said that since Neumann, he was very happy with how they had been playing. He also had a lot to say about junior Brent Benner.
Jaskelewicz said, “He has been phenomenal. I wanted two goals from him [at Immaculata] and he got them.”
Benner, however, attributes the goals to his teammates. “We have been playing a lot better as a team, which has given all of us more opportunities to put the ball away,” Benner said.
The men face nationally ranked Eastern on Oct. 17 and Arcadia on Oct. 26. The National Soccer Coach’s Association of America put Eastern at number nine and Arcadia at 22 during the week of Oct. 11.
Posted to the web by Brian Coary
