Box Score GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg scored three times in the opening 30 minutes and the Bullets earned a 3-1 non-conference men's soccer victory over Susquehanna University Tuesday evening at Clark Field.
The Bullets (8-4-1) picked up a big win following a tough four-match stretch that included a 1-1 tie versus 21st-ranked Muhlenberg College - in which two starters suffered season-ending injuries - and a 1-0 double-overtime loss to Swarthmore College.
Gettysburg has now equaled its highest victory total since the 2009 team finished 8-7-2.
The Bullets never trailed after scoring twice inside the opening 16 minutes. In the 13th minute, sophomore
KJ DePontes (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) brought the ball down the left side of the field and sent a perfectly-placed cross to classmate
Henry Smith (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), who headed the ball into the left side of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Just over three minutes later, senior
Kyle Franks (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) delivered a corner kick near the right post, where junior
Marc Franco (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) smashed in a loose ball for his first collegiate goal to make it 2-0. Franks' assist was his fourth of the season, tying him with DePontes for the team lead.
The Crusaders cut the deficit in half in the 20th minute when Nick Fecci blasted in a shot from the top right of the box. But the Bullets retaliated just 10 minutes later when sophomore Matt Juliano (West Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury), making his first collegiate start, sent a long pass upfield to senior
Parker Delmolino (Monroe, Conn./Fairfield Prep), who chipped in a shot over the goalie to make it 3-1.
Susquehanna outshot the Bullets 10-8 in the first half, but freshman
Max Karen (Huntington, N.Y./Elwood-John Glenn) made three of his four stops in the period.
Gettysburg held a 5-3 shot advantage in the second half to bring the count even at 13 for the match.
The Orange and Blue resumes their four-game homestand on Saturday, when they host 20th-ranked Dickinson College at 7 p.m. in a Centennial Conference match-up.
