MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - The Penn State Harrisburg men's soccer team looked to defend their home field as the Cazenovia Wildcats and the Morrisville State Mustangs travelled to Middletown for a weekend of NEAC soccer play.
The Nittany Lions played the Wildcats evenly into double overtime, ending the game tied 3-3. Junior Ian Lake (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) knocked in a header from Danny Francis (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) to give the Lions the early advantage. Francis continued his strong performance with a goal of his own at the 32nd minute on a breakaway to bring the score to 2-0. The Lions entered half time with the advantage but weren't able hold onto the lead as the Wildcats clawed back with two consecutive goals at the 48th and 72nd minute. Freshman forward Tommy Miller (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) notched a goal to lift the Lions to a 3-2 advantage.
Cazenovia responded with a goal late in the second half to force overtime. Neither team was able to score in overtime or double overtime, resulting in a final score of 3-3.
The Nittany Lions needed a win against Morrisville State on Sunday to remain second in NEAC standings. Sophomore Josh Bitner (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) started the Lions off with a goal early in the first half. Danny Francis had another big day, assisting Bitner's goal, adding one of his own and assisting Ernest Nitimoah (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast HS) later in the first half.
Morrisville battled to earn a goal in the second half to try to close the 3-0 gap but could not overcome the strong efforts by the Nittany Lions. Chris Ertle (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) closed out the game with an unassisted goal at the 77th minute, bringing the final score to 4-1.
The Nittany Lions host the Susquehanna University Crusaders Tuesday night at 6:00PM for the final non-conference game of the season.