Box Score HUNTINGDON, Pa. (Sept. 20, 2014) – With four draws on its record and having tied its last three contests, the Drew University men's soccer team wasted no time in the 2014 Landmark Conference opener at Juniata College on Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior defender Michael Pezzuti scored the game's lone goal in just the seventh minute as the Rangers (3-1-4) and senior goalkeeper Michael Reyes kept the Eagles (2-6) off the board for the remaining 83 minutes for the 1-0 victory on the road.
 
Starting conference play with a win is always important, but Pezzuti led his team into what they believed was a must-win game after four straight overtime contests.

"It's been a rough stretch with a bunch of ties, but we had to stay positive," said Pezzuti, who found the back of the net for the seventh time in his career. "Conference games are a whole different ball game and it allowed us to start fresh, so as far as we're concerned, we are 1-0."
 
The decisive tally came 6:08 into the contest when Pezzuti stepped up to take a direct free kick outside of the Juniata box. The senior captain hooked a shot past the defense's wall and into the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
The play was set up by some consistent pressure to open the game for the Rangers, including a shot on goal by junior Matt Sommer.
 
"It's something that I have worked on by myself and with the coaching staff regularly and scoring the goal is just the ultimate reward," Pezzuti said of his strike in the seventh minute.  "But I wouldn't get that opportunity if our forwards are not being dangerous on the attack and drawing fouls."
 
Juniata came close to equalizing in the 39^th minute with a header from close range, but the Drew defense was there to bail out Reyes for a team save off the goal line. Reyes himself came up with five saves of his own to record the 22^nd shutout of his career. That mark now stands alone for seventh all-time for Drew men's soccer.
 
Pezzuti's goal was one of only four shots on target on Saturday, and Juniata eventually outshot the Rangers 12-10. For a 20-minute stretch late in the second half, the Eagles kept the pressure on the Drew back line and did not give up a single shot during that span. Reyes and the Drew defense, led by Pezzuti, Sommer, junior Daniel Giraldo and senior Robert Hart, were there to shut down any chances at an equalizer on Saturday.
 
The Rangers won their Landmark Conference opener for the first time since 2010, when they beat Moravian College 3-1 on the league's first day of competition. Last season's Landmark opener was a 1-1 draw with The Catholic University of America.
 
Drew's next Landmark game is in two weeks when Susquehanna University visits Ranger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m. Until then, the Blue & Green continue a five-game road trip with matches at Eastern University on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Manhattanville College on Saturday, Sept 27 and at St. Joseph's (L.I.) College on Wednesday, Oct. 1.