ELIZABETHTOWN, PA:  (Nov. 2, 2010) -  A season ago, Arcadia University Men's Soccer handed Elizabethtown College a pair of losses to earn a trip to the Commonwealth Conference championship.  The Knights defeated the Blue Jays during the 2009 regular season and Commonwealth Semifinals by identical 1-0 scores in Glenside.  This season, the Blue Jays found vindication.  Aside from a 3-1 loss to defending league and Division III national champion Messiah, the Blue Jays entered tonight's Commonwealth Conference Semifinal game riding a ten game winning streak. During that streak, on October 16, Elizabethtown hosted Arcadia on their homecoming day and escaped with a 1-0 win.  Flash forward to the present...Etown, capturing the #2 seed following a 6-1 finish against league opponents turned the tables on the Knights, hosting last season's league runners up on their home turf this evening, where they are unbeaten this season.  And by the conclusion of regulation, the Blue Jays held onto their home unbeaten streak as they handed Arcadia a disappointing 3-0 loss to end their season and hopes at a chance at the Commonwealth Championship crown.  E'town sweeps their 2010 season meetings with the Knights and advance to Saturday's Championship tilt where they will face #1 Messiah, who were 2-0 winners over #4 Lebanon Valley tonight in Grantham.

Ranked #5 in this week's NSCAA Mid-Atlantic rankings, the Blue Jays (13-2-2) had to deal with the physical play of the Knights from the opening minutes and then the lights went out.  With 16:42 remaining in the first half, the power at Ira R. Herr Field fell silent and the game was delayed for 16 minutes.  Up until that point, the Blue Jays connected on two shots, both missing the frame, while the first of four shots by Arcadia sophomore Zach Todd went wide.  When play finally resumed, the teams traded two more missed chances before Javeim Blanchette forced Arcadia first year keeper Ryan Lantzy to make the first of his two saves of the game in the 35th minute.  Minutes later, Blanchette would find an opening but the Knight's defense blocked the shot to preserve the scoreless game at halftime. 

Blanchette would again nearly connect for a shot on goal in the first scoring chance of the second half, but again, the Knight's defense didn't allow the shot through to Lanzty and with 39 minutes to play, the scoreboard remained unchanged.  The physical play remained a constant, and when E'town's Taylor Helsel drew a yellow card in the 57th minute, the Knights knew it was time to respond.  However, just as play resumed, E'town regained possession off a heads up play by Helsel, who flipped the ball to Tony Pacella at the left just inside of the 18 and scored his third of the season to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead at 57:25.  The goal would turn out to be the game winner.

Lantzy would be forced to make his second and final save of the contest at 64:03 when Luis Devia broke free and rifled off a shot before being replaced by Cameron Wyllie on a substitution. And it didn't take Wyllie more than 40 seconds to light the scoreboard up again for E'town.  Erik Weber located Wyllie inside the box where he fed him the ball and Wyllie controlled the pass and fired it into the upper left corner to give the Blue Jays the 2-0 advantage at 66:11.  Zach Todd used his speed to create space to send in a shot on goal on Blue Jay keeper Eric Carr in the 78th minute, and despite seeing little action up until this point, Carr was on his game, making the only save he needed to to keep the Knights in search of a goal.  It seemed as though E'town's use of timely substitutions proved deadly for the Knights because in the 87th minute, Lious Devia re-entered the game for the Blue Jays and his first shot missed high but his second did not.  Wyllie, already with a goal to his credit, added an assist at 88:04 as he crossed to Devia who used his heel to flick the ball past Lantzy giving E'town a commanding 3-0 lead that would eventually stand as the final. 

E'town led 13-5 in shots and 5-1 in shots on goal.  The victors also held the advantage in corners 7-3.  Lantzy would finish with 2 saves for the Knights (11-8).  Wyllie finsihed with a goal and an assist for E'town to lead all scorer's.