LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's soccer team lost, 2-1, in their home opener against non-conference foe Arcadia University on Wednesday evening, marking the first men's soccer contest played in the G. Patrick Stillman Athletic Complex.
Arcadia (2-1) put pressure on Cairn's (1-1-1) back line early in the contest, forcing sophomore goalkeeper
Chris Eelman (North Haledon, NJ / Hawthorne Christian Academy) to make three saves within the first 35 minutes of the contest to keep the game tied. Cairn generated their first quality opportunity in the 31
st minute, when sophomore
Chase Segool (Aston Township, PA / Sun Valley) found some space between the Arcadia defenders and fired a shot high to keep the game deadlocked. The Knights broke through in the 42
nd minute when a quality run down the right side of the pitch generated a shot that put the Knights on top, 1-0. Arcadia took that 1-0 advantage into intermission.
In the second half, the Knights increased their lead to 2-0 after Nathaniel Sellers snuck an attempt through the back line. Cairn cut the deficit in half after fifth-year team captain
Josh Goodyear (Camp Hill, PA / Camp Hill HS) pushed forward towards the Arcadia net and got a good piece of a header, and a foul by the Knights committed inside the box granted Cairn a penalty kick opportunity in the 73
rd minute. Sophomore
Moses Beers (Lancaster, PA / Manheim Township) deposited the chance past the keeper's outstretched left side to make the score 2-1. Eelman kept the Highlanders in the contest with three saves over the final 17 minutes, and Beers put a shot on net 88
th minute, but the Knights held on for a 2-1 victory.
Arcadia held the advantage in shots (23-7) and corner kicks (7-1). Beers led the Highlander attack with his aforementioned goal and a team-high four shots. Eelman collected a career-high 10 saves between the pipes in a complete game effort.
The Highlanders will be back on the pitch on Saturday, September 10 when they welcome non-conference adversary Widener University to Langhorne. Kickoff inside the Stillman Complex is set for 3:30 p.m.
