SCRANTON, Pa. - On Wednesday evening, the Haverford College men's soccer team (5-3-8) traveled to Scranton (8-3-5) to take part in a non-conference showdown with the Royals of on Weiss Field, illuminated by the lights of the Electric City. Haverford came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a 56th minute goal from Kieran Kunihiro, the first career tally for the Menlo Park, Calif. product.
The late season encounter saw the Fords and Royals each trying to establish an offensive rhythm in the early goings. The only shot for Haverford in the first 45 minutes was from Aidan Lacy in the seventh minute, as the first year fired on frame, rocketing an attempt that was dealt with by Scranton goalkeeper Joseph Weinstein.
Scranton peppered the other side of the field with a few attempts, but Dylan Ioffreda was not called into action to make a save through the first half of acgtion.
In the second half, Haverford came out as the more aggressive side with a pair of early shots from Lacy and Brian Lorenz before Kunihiro found the back of the net in the 56th. After a throw in, the ball bounced around to the feet of a few Haverford players before a failed clearance from the Royals found the foot of Kunihiro well outside the 18 yard box.
The sophomore collected the ball and took a few steps before firing in a strong shot that initially bounced off the turf and into the waiting arms of Weinstein. Weinstein was unable to corral the attempt cleanly, as the ball fell out of his grasp and into the back of the net for a 1-0 Haverford lead, a cushion that would ultimately serve as the winning margin.
Lacy and Alex Millones each had solid looks at extending the lead to two, with Lacy hitting the crossbar in the waning moments, while Ioffreda was not called into action for the remainder of the contest despite a pair of late shots from the Royals that drifted off target.
The Fords held a 10-5 advantage in shots and a commanding 8-1 edge in corner kicks on the evening.
Haverford now returns to action on Saturday, October 28 hosting Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore in a huge Centennial Conference matchup with playoff implications (3 p.m.). Haverford can secure a Centennial Conference playoff spot with a win. Prior to the contest, Haverford will honor its 11 seniors.