CAMDEN, N.J. – The Haverford College men's soccer team, ranked No. 25 in the D3Soccer.com Poll, played to a scoreless draw at Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday evening. The Fords (6-2-3) and Raptors (5-5-3) each had chances, with the hosts holding a 15-14 edge in shots on the evening. In the end, five saves from Jeremy Astesano and six stops from James Brett nullified both offenses in the dual shutout.
The Fords had a 5-4 edge in shots during the opening half, but it was three saves by the Raptors' keeper that kept the game level. Ben Field (five shots) and Nick Jannelli (four shots) led the offensive attacks for the Fords in the contest. Each had a respective shot on target turned away in the sixth and 20th minutes of game action. Dorian Wirz also had a run at goal in the 41st minute only to be denied with less than five minutes remaining in the opening half. Rutgers-Camden had its best opportunity of the first half with a shot off the crossbar during the 15th minute of play.
Even with shots being basically deadlocked, Haverford had triple the corner kick opportunities of the hosts. With a 3-1 edge in the opening half, the Fords added to that advantage with four more corner attempts in the second half. Jannelli put a second shot on goal following Haverford's third corner try of the second half, only to see his bid once again turned away by Brett.
With one more shot from both Jannelli and Field during the first overtime session, Haverford first missed to the right and then over the crossbar. The Raptors held a 3-1 edge in shots during the final 10 minute overtime session. However, the Fords had the final two chances which came on corner kicks with the final seconds ticking away in the overtime. However, they did not have enough time on the offensive end to get a last second shot on goal from those chances.
Astesano recorded his fifth shutout of the season during Wednesday's 110 minute contest. The Fords' goalie has now allowed just eight goals in nearly 900 minutes of playing time, a 0.80 GAA.
Following the conclusion of a three-game road trip tonight, men's soccer will look for a return of its offensive firepower when the Fords host McDaniel Saturday on Walton Field. Getting back into Centennial Conference play this weekend, that match with the Green Terror is set for a 2 p.m. start.