Men’s soccer defeats Juniata 5–0

The Carnegie Mellon men’s soccer team upheld its winning record with a 5–0 win over Juniata College Saturday night. The Tartans dominated the entire 90 minutes by playing the ball on the ground and keeping possession despite less than perfect field conditions. Juniata College struggled to keep up with the skilled Carnegie Mellon side and ultimately could not hold off the Tartans’ offense. Carnegie Mellon improved its record to 4–0–1 and is currently ranked 16th overall in the country and second in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“[The team is] proud of our ranking, but we know it doesn’t mean that much at this point in the season,” said junior forward Ricky Griffin. “We have potential and we want to prove we deserve it, prove we should be ranked, and prove we are one of the better UAA teams again.”

The Tartans scored their first goal in the 18th minute of play when Griffin dribbled the ball along the edge of the 18-yard box and managed to turn and strike the ball on the ground past Juniata goalkeeper Joe Kohler.

The Tartans did not wait long to put themselves on the board for the second time, scoring their second goal less than a minute later when junior midfielder Jon Simon received a ball down the left flank, beat a defender, and slotted the ball past Kohler to the far corner of the goal. Only minutes later, Griffin put another point on the board, scoring with a shot similar to his first, a left-footed rocket from the top of the 18.

Less than a minute later, junior midfielder Keith Haselhoff ripped a shot from 30 yards out that Kohler was unable to contain. The low shot ricocheted off his chest and into the goal, giving the Tartans a 4–0 advantage going into halftime.

Carnegie Mellon showed off its flair throughout the game, proving to be more skilled than the visiting Juniata team.

Late in the first half, Haselhoff received a ball just outside the six-yard box that he flicked with the back of his heel to teammate junior midfielder Ryan Browne, who was running in to take the shot. Kohler came out to challenge the ball; Browne beat the keeper but was forced too wide to finish the play.

According to Griffin, the Tartans were not expecting such a wide margin of victory going into the game. “The team definitely didn’t think we would win by that much considering the past two years we lost to this team, so our coach told us not to take them lightly and that is the strategy we took. Getting these goals early was great.”

Senior goalkeeper Matt Bazin showed off his talent when Juniata gave Carnegie Mellon a scare late in the first half. A Juniata midfielder lofted a ball to the right corner of the field just skimming the head of a Carnegie Mellon defender and onto the feet of an attacking Juniata player. Bazin deflected the first shot, which bounced back into the 18-yard box for a quick rebound shot that he also recovered.

The Tartans would not score again until late in the second half when junior forward Ryan Heuler received a through ball from Haselhoff on the right side, touched it by a Juniata defender, and fired past the keeper into the far corner of the net. Hueler’s goal brought the Tartans to a 5–0 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Bazin started the game and recorded two saves for Carnegie Mellon as well as an assist on Simon’s goal. Junior keeper Max Khurgin saw time for the final 20 minutes of the game and made one save. This is the third shutout of the season for the team.

Carnegie Mellons looks to keep its winning record as the team takes to the road this week facing rivals Penn State Altoona, Westminster College, and Grove City College.