Harry Cohen
The Rangers men’s soccer team moved from 24 to 20 in the national rankings this week with two more wins. The first came as Coach Lenny Armuth led his team onto the pitch in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania at conference rival Susquehanna.The Rangers shut out the 4-8-2 River Hawks to preserve their perfect conference record and to clinch home field advantage in the upcoming Landmark playoffs.
Drew did not take it easy on the River Hawks as Andy Imoh (‘20) had two early goals and both Anthony McMyne (‘19) and Matt Asante (‘20) added goals of their own in the blowout. The Rangers’ defense allowed only three shots on goal with all of them being saved by Goalie Jason Adamo (‘20) for his eighth shutout of the season. This win secured home field advantage for the Rangers in the Landmark Semi-Finals, which will now be held at Ranger Stadium on Tuesday, October 31.
After their rout of the River Hawks the Rangers went to play Kean University for their last non-conference match of the season. Drew was looking to secure its no loss non-conference record when Kean struck first with a beautiful goal from well outside the box. This, however, would be the last good news for Kean. Drew would respond with three tallies from Aiden Cserhat (’20), Alexi Velasquez (’19) and Imoh. The Rangers defense along with Adamo would keep Kean’s offense silent for the rest of the night.
The Rangers will see action next on Saturday, October 21 at Catholic in Washington D.C. Their regular season finale, along with their senior day, will be at Ranger Stadium on Saturday, October 28. Win or lose they will hit the pitch of Ranger stadium once more on October 31 to earn the right to play for the Landmark Championship, and possibly an NCAA Regional birth.
What to Watch For
The Rangers have gone undefeated so far this season, with their only blemish coming by way of a tie with Elmhurst College on September 9th. However, their in conference record is spotless and they look to keep it that way with all three of their last games coming within the Landmark Conference. If Drew can secure a perfect conference season it would be a first in school history for the Men’s Soccer team. In the movie “The Sandlot” Babe Ruth says, “Heroes get remembered but legends never die.” This Ranger team has proven that they’re heroes, but these next three games will determine if they are legends.
