(Posted October 15, 2005)

Juniata 0, Lebanon Valley 0 (2OT)

Huntingdon, Pa. ? The Juniata defense played spectacularly Saturday afternoon, holding visiting Lebanon Valley scoreless. Unfortunately, the offense wasn?t able to find the net, and the Eagles had to settle for a 0-0 tie in double overtime. After the tie, Juniata is now 4-10-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the conference. Lebanon Valley?s record is 5-6-1 overall, 0-2-1 in conference play.

It was an up-and-down, fast-paced match. Juniata controlled the ball throughout the game, but was unable to punch through for the go-ahead goal. The Eagles had a couple excellent chances to score on a pair of crosses in the second half, but the Lebanon Valley defense was able to clear the ball both times.

The Juniata defense continually kept the pressure on Lebanon Valley, limiting the visitors to just four shots, only one of which was on goal.

On senior day senior Nathan Pugh (Shippensburg/Shippensburg) played well in only his second start of the season, stopping the only shot he faced to earn the shutout. While not facing a large number of shots, Pugh did an excellent job of controlling the box, continually intercepting cross attempts and swallowing up loose balls.

In the second overtime period, Lebanon Valley got the ball into the Juniata box, only to have Pugh make a diving deflection and then the Eagles defense cleared the ball to preserve the shutout.

The play got progressively more physical as the match wore on. Three Lebanon Valley and two Juniata players were given yellow cards. The Eagles responded to the physical play, playing with more energy in the two overtime periods.

Prior to the game, Juniata recognized its four seniors for their efforts over the past four seasons. Pugh, Robert Bowser (Dallastown/York), Kyle Dunn (Central Bucks East/Warrington) and Jeff Gehring (Exeter Township/Reading) were all honored.

Juniata will play its final home match of the season on Wednesday when they host Elizabethtown.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.