First of two parts

October 4: Home vs. FDU-Florham

Marywood entered October with a record of 5-5 and a challenging matchup against the FDU-Florham Devils, who only had one loss on the year. FDU’s offense started the game hot as they put up three shots on goal before it reached the 20th minute. Senior goalie Alex Russo turned away all those attempts. The Devils’ attack eventually became too strong for Russo and they scored in the 30th minute to take a 1-0 halftime lead.

Marywood’s offensive struggles continued in the second period. They only accumulated two shots on goal and both were saved by the Devils. On the other hand, FDU pressed its attack. In the 68th minute, the Devils scored again to take a 2-0 lead. FDU’s Drilon Toska crushed any hopes of a Pacers’ comeback with a late goal to secure the 3-0 win.

October 7: Away vs. Neumann University

Looking to bounce back, the Pacers traveled to Aston Township in suburban Philadelphia to take on the Neumann Knights. This matchup officially started conference play for the season. The first period did not go as expected for the Pacers, as they had zero shots and 10 fouls. The Knights completely outplayed the Pacers this half, controlling possession and firing 10 shots. Even with Marywood’s poor play, they stopped the Knights from scoring for 45 minutes.

The team’s struggles continued after the break. The offense wasn’t clicking and they failed to get shots on goal. The only thing keeping Marywood in the matchup was its defense. Eventually, the defense let through a goal and the Knights gained the advantage. The Knights had an opportunity to add to their tally, but Russo kept the ball out. Marywood lost its second game in a row.

October 11: Away vs. Centenary University

Looking for the first win in October, Marywood traveled down to Hackettstown, N.J. to take on the Centenary University Cyclones. The last time the Pacers lost to the Cyclones was back in 2017. Junior goalkeeper Niko Leibkuchler made his second start of the year for Marywood. Neither team scored in the first half and Leibkuchler finished the period with one save.

It wasn’t until midway through the second period when the scoring picked up. In the 74th minute, Danny Gomez connected with Matt Laudenslager to give Marywood a 1-0 lead. This was Laudenslager’s second goal of the year and Gomez’s third assist. The Cyclones didn’t waste any time and evened the score in the 78th minute. The Pacers tried to fight back but Centenary’s defense wasn’t allowing anything through. In the 84th minute, the Cyclones scored a second time to take the lead, 2-1. With time against them, the Pacers rallied for one final push. Yet again, the Cyclones were too much for them and Marywood never got a shot off. The heartbreaker loss kept the team winless this month. The Cyclones’ goalie, Kevin Velasquez Mejia, finished his day with five saves.

October 14: Home vs. Cabrini University

Marywood returned home to face the Cabrini University Cavaliers. The Pacers were on a three-match losing streak and stood 0-2 in conference play. After missing the last game, Russo was back in net for the team. Marywood made a statement right away when Freshman Eli Benitez scored his first career goal before the game was a minute old. The Cavaliers responded in the 15th minute to tie the match 1-1. Cabrini had a chance to take the lead before half, but Russo made a great play to keep the match tied.

After intermission, the Pacers went on a scoring run. Laudenslager started the run as he retained the lead on a deep shot. Laudenslager now had games with back to back goals. Seth Blakiewicz added to Marywood’s total in the 75th minute. This also was his first career goal. The Cavaliers put up two final shots on goal, but Russo prevented any final-minute scoring. The Pacers won in a tough battle, 3-1, giving them their first October win and their first conference victory.

Next time: The Pacers played three more conference games before entering the Atlantic East Conference Playoffs. Last year, they sneaked in as the sixth seed and lost in the opening round to Cabrini University. This year, the Pacers looked to go further.

All statistics are from MarywoodPacers.com as of November 6

Contact the writer – [email protected]