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Box Score
CALIFORNIA (Oct. 14) – After taking a quick 2-0 lead in the first half, the California University of Pennsylvania men’s soccer team suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss by penalty kick in the final six minutes on Wednesday evening at Roadman Park in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 10-4 overall and 2-4 in league play. The loss snaps the seven-game winning streak by Cal U and also eliminated the Vulcans from qualifying for the PSAC Championship Tournament as they can’t finish higher than third place in the PSAC West standings. Meanwhile, the Lakers improve to 11-3 this year and are now tied for first place in the PSAC West with a 5-1 record in divisional action.
Cal U took a quick 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when senior forward
Mike Luecke (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) scored the 11th goal of the season and 50th of his career. Less than 90 seconds later, classmate
Nick Helbig (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) scored on a penalty kick to increase the Vulcans’ lead to 2-0 at the 5:57-mark. Mercyhurst answered with a goal in the 16th minute by graduate student Paul Neill off a pass from Arash Fahandezh.
The Vulcans maintained their 2-1 lead through halftime and for most of the second half before junior Dean Atkins tied the game with a goal inside the far post off an assist to Billy Colton. After each team received a yellow card in the 83rd minute, Mercyhurst claimed its first lead of the game on a penalty-kick goal by Colton at the 83:54-mark. Cal U then appeared to have tied the game in the final minutes of the game, but the goal was negated due to contact with the Mercyhurst goalkeeper.
Junior goalkeeper
Derek Yobbi (South Park, Pa./South Park) finished with three saves in the loss, while Mercyhurst’s Diego Gustin posted six saves in 90 minutes of action.
The Lakers out-shot the Vulcans by a 21-13 margin while both teams attempted two corner kicks. The two teams were whistled for a combined 35 fouls with five yellow cards being issued to players.
Cal U is idle this weekend before returning to action on Tuesday, Oct. 20, against Gannon in Erie. The game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.