MIDDLETOWN, PA - The Penn State Harrisburg men´s soccer team took the field Thursday night, hosting the Eagles of Juniata College. The blue and white dropped two tough games in a row coming into the game, so they were eager to take the field. Behind a large crowd at Penn State Harrisburg Soccer Field, Penn State looked good early and had the momentum. As they settled into the game, they began to take a few chances, unfortunately a bad turnover allowed Juniata to strike first.
About 15 minutes in, an attempted clear came up short and was controlled by Juniata´s Greg Hess. Hess played an excellent ball into the box to teammate David Grim. Junior goalie, Toan Ngo(Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg), attempted to dive on the ball, but a well placed shot by Grim gave the Eagles an early 1-0 lead. Soon after Juniata grabbed the lead, darkness fell upon Penn State Harrisburg field. As the lights came on, the blue and white began to click. Junior forward Danny Francis(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) really got the team going. After a great run down the left side of the field, Francis crossed the ball into the box for a header that came up just short. This near goal gave Penn State a boost, and they knew they had to even this game up before the half.
At the 25 minute mark of the first half senior Jeff Duke (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) played a great ball to freshman Nik Light (Jonestown, PA/Northern Lebanon) near the corner. Light struck an excellent ball to the far post and the ever opportunistic Danny Francis was able to head the ball into the back of the net to knot up the score 1-1. The goal seemed to only ignite the blue and white as they dominated the rest of the half. Although they led in shots on goal and possession of the ball, Penn State was not able to put another one in, and halftime came with the score all tied up at 1-1.
The second half came, and the match was anybody´s to be had. Possession went back and forth as neither team was able to net a substantial scoring push in the early part of the half. As Penn State controlled the ball on defense, an errant pass was once again intercepted by the Eagles. Greg Hess found himself alone in the corner searching for a man to cross it to. He found that man far post, and at the 52 minute mark, Jeffrey Gring headed the ball in and gave the Eagles a crucial 2-1 lead. Penn State was not about to give up however and senior captain Joshua Christ (Ephrata, PA/Living Word Academy) continued to start runs for the Nittany Lions. Although the Lions had several opportunities to cash in, nothing could materialize and time after time the ball was cleared away.
At about the 35 minute mark in the half, Danny Francis looked to once again tie the game up. He streaked down the side of the field, and a brilliant fake gave him room to get a shot off. From about 18 yards, Francis struck a great ball near post, but it careened of the post and out of bounds. The last scoring opportunity the Lions had was about 5 minutes later as Joshua Christ decided to take the ball himself. As he raced down the middle, the Juniata goalie came out to dive on the ball but Christ was able to chip it over and sailed just over the crossbar. Time ticked away from there, and the Eagles held on for the victory, 2-1. This loss drops the Lions to 1-3 on the year.
Penn State Harrisburg opens up conference play on September 12th at 2:00 P.M., as they play host to the visiting Wildcats of Suny IT.