MADISON, N.J. - Senior
Aidan Cserhat posted one goal and two assists and the Rangers defeated Juniata College 4-1 on Senior Day in Landmark Conference (LC) men's soccer action Saturday afternoon in Ranger Stadium.
Prior to the start of the game, Drew's nine seniors were honored in a brief ceremony. The match marked the team's final home contest of the season.
The Rangers outshot the Eagles 26-10.
Drew (5-9-2, 1-4-2 LC) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, striking just a minute into the game. Junior
Ryan LaRocca sent a throw-in from the right corner into the box, and it bounced off a defender and right to Cserhat, who headed it into the net for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Drew would threaten over the rest of the opening period, when it outshot the Eagles 13-2. Senior
Matt Asante drilled a shot on goal that was deflected by a defender in the seventh minute before the Rangers fired off three dangerous shots later in the half. Junior Tony Oliviera just missed the net on a free kick in the 31st minute, and a minute later, senior
Robert Paniti sent a shot off a defender before it ricocheted off the crossbar. Senior
Damien Robbins followed up with a shot on goal that came off a corner and was once again knocked away by an Eagle defender.
In the meantime, senior
Jason Adamo snuffed out a shot off the foot of Nick Sinapius in the 25th minute to keep it a one-goal game. The two sides headed into the intermission with the Rangers leading 1-0.
Drew continued its assault in the second half. In the 48th minute Cserhat drilled a free kick that seemed to be headed for the twine, but Juniata keeper Andrew Yeich made a leadping one-handed deflection. Cserhat followed up one minute later with a header from the doorstep, but Yeich made another stop.
The Rangers finally broke through in the 59th minute, when Asante took a long pass from Cserhat, made a touch from the right side, and drilled a shot into the far post for his first goal of the season.
Eight minutes later, freshman
Modesto Nogueira blasted a deep shot off the crossbar. He would find the back of the net in the 69th minute, taking a cross from Cserhat and scoring from the left side on a breakaway to make it 3-0.
Juniata broke up the in the shutout in the 73rd minute, when Bass Diakhoumpa converted a header off a free kick.
Drew set the final score when senior
Ian Sawicki scored in the 87th minute. He took a pass from Robbins and from the middle of the box, booted it into the left side of the net for his third goal of the season.
Adamo played the opening half in net for the Rangers and finished with one save while sophomore
Calum Erlenborn stopped four shots in the second half.
Drew plays its next-to-last game of the season on Wednesday, when it visits cross-town rival FDU-Florham in a non-conference game starting at 7 p.m.