Three consecutive wins helped the Gannon University men’s soccer team make another appearance in the Top 10 national rankings.
The Knights started their winning streak with a 7-1 win over Daemen Oct. 7, then followed that with a 2-1 overtime victory over Slippery Rock on Oct. 9. The third straight win came in a 5-1 victory over Pitt-Johnstown Saturday at Johnstown.
The trio of wins left Gannon 9-1 overall and 2-1 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action going into Wednesday’s 5:30 p.m. matchup with Seton Hill at McConnell Family Stadium.
The Knights dominated from start to finish in their win over Daemen, getting six goals in the first half to put the game out of reach. Ben Andrews started the scoring just 14 seconds into the game and he added another goal later in the half.
Also scoring first-half goals for Gannon were Joe Knox, Lennox Crews and Alex Lee Yaw, and the Knights took advantage of an own goal to make it 6-1 at halftime. Sergio Del Castillo scored Gannon’s only second-half goal.
Gannon held most of the ball possession during the match and let off a season-high 39 shots while Daemen only managed four.
The 7-1 win is the largest victory for the Knights since 2016 when they won 8-1 over Daemen.
Two days after their win over Daemen, the Knights’ battle with Slippery Rock was anything but easy, as it ended up being an overtime thriller.
Gannon found itself in a hole early when Slippery Rock’s Nathan Kortyna scored on a header delivered off a corner by Brian McCarthy in the game’s sixth minute of play.
Lee Yaw responded for the Knights late in the first half with a free kick from 20 yards out that found its way in the top right corner to level the match.
Gannon went into double overtime for the second time this season and Ivan Manfredi’s first goal of the season gave the Knights the victory.
Gannon let off 11 shots while Slippery Rock finished with eight. Lee Yaw led with a team-high five shots, three of which were on target.
Following the overtime thriller against Slippery Rock, Gannon traveled to Johnstown Saturday and came away with its third straight win.
Austin Ludwik scored his first two goals of the season for the Knights, who built a 3-1 halftime advantage.
Anthony Marafioti and James Randall also secured their first goals on the season while Abdullah Say added his second goal of the year.
Lee Yaw recorded three assists and earned himself PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week honors.
Following Wednesday’s matchup with Seton Hill, Gannon will return home to host rival Mercyhurst at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at McConnell Family Stadium.
On the women’s side, the Knights bounced back from a disappointing 1-0 loss to Slippery Rock on Oct. 9 to capture a 3-2 overtime victory over Pitt-Johnstown Saturday.
Goals from Kayla Bevacqua and Emily Cekella, and an early overtime winner from Vanessa Coccurello were enough for the Knights to edge out the Mountain Cats.
Gannon, now 5-4-1 overall and 4-4-1 in PSAC play, hosts Seton Hill at 3 p.m. Wednesday at McConnell Family Stadium and then takes on rival Mercyhurst at 5 p.m. Saturday at home.
JUAN BATISTA
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