Seeking to build upon an impressive defensive showing in a 0-0 draw against Gannon, the Rock welcomed Seton Hill University to James Egli Field on Wednesday, September 27th. The Griffins claimed a 2-1 victory, dropping Slippery Rock’s overall record to 1-4-3.
Shortly after first kick, SHU’s points leader, freshman forward Henrik Berg, put one past goalkeeper Jonathan Sharp, who was coming off his second shutout of the campaign and entered the game as the conference’s leader in save percentage at .851. The score was set up by a centering pass from midfielder Tom Urquhart and was Berg’s fifth this season.
The Griffins carried the 1-0 lead into halftime in credit to their goalie Austin Iddon’s save on a quality chance from Slippery Rock’s Anthony Werth in the 38th minute. Fifteen minutes after the break concluded, SRU senior midfielder Tyler McCarthy found the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career, tying the game at one apiece. The correspondence on the scoreboard was short-lived, though, as Berg tallied his second goal of the game in the 64th minute, totaling his team-leading sixth of the campaign. The Griffins’ lead was almost stretched to two in the 87th minute, but Andrew Awantang’s shot deflected off the post.
The miss allowed the Rock put forward one final push to tie the game in its closing minute, registering a shot each from senior defender Kyle Boyer and freshman forward Sean Tinney that were blocked and a third by freshman forward Cory Olix that was saved by Iddon, sealing the game.
The loss was SRU’s fifth straight at the hands of Seton Hill. The Griffins, who in 2013 had never beaten Slippery Rock, tied the teams’ series record at 5-5. SRU will attempt to pick up their first PSAC victory of 2017 on the road against the East Stroudsburg Warriors on Saturday.
