MIDDLETOWN, Pa.- Prior to Penn State Harrisburg's home game against Penn State Abington on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Lions' players, coaches and fans paid tribute to eight seniors who have been a crucial part of the men's soccer program's newfound success in recent years. Unfortunately, despite a valiant comeback effort, the Lions were unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to the visitors from Abington 2-1 in a double overtime heartbreaker.
Both squads looked evenly matched early in the contest, but a mistake by Penn State Harrisburg's Josh Clinger (East Petersburg, PA/Hempfield) led to a Penn State Abington goal and the home team spent the rest of the match playing catch-up. The midfielder tried to clear a loose ball over his own goal but he failed to get enough force behind the ball and instead of falling harmlessly out of bounds, the ball landed in the back of the Lions' own net in the game's 51st minute.
The blue and white spent the next 35 minutes playing physical soccer and creating opportunities to tie things up. But time after time they came away empty-handed. Just when it looked like all hope was lost, Penn State Harrisburg earned a corner-kick with a minute and a half remaining in the contest. Matthew Hyson (Bel-Air, MD/Calvert Hall) struck a perfectly placed ball and on the day he was honored for his career's work, senior captain Caleb Hoppes (Harrisburg, PA/Middletown) headed the equalizer past Abington goalie Dan Carmack (California, MD/Leonardtown).
The Lions found new life and looked to be in control as the first overtime got underway. Despite not scoring in the extra session, the momentum had clearly swung in the host team's favor.
Into the second overtime they played and it was still anyone's ballgame. Then, with 1:24 remaining, Penn State Abington's Alex Martins (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Lower Moreland) gathered a loose ball and drove towards Penn State Harrisburg's net. Keeper Josh Wolff (Christiana, PA/Octorara) raced from the goal to defend the play but was caught out of position and Martins put his shot into the net to end the Lions senior celebration on a sour note.
The loss resonated as one of the toughest for Penn State Harrisburg to swallow in an otherwise strong year of soccer. The defeat dropped the Lions to 8-3-2 but they remain very much in contention for a bye in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship tournament next month, sitting third in the standings.
As the contest got underway, the seniors received tremendous ovations from the over 140 fans in attendance when they were announced as starters. Four-year player Jorge Avila (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East), the physical offensive threat in Jonathan Joseph (Miramer, FL/Summerset), last year's team MVP Hoppes, senior captain Brendan Garner (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), 2011 leading goal-scorer Ian Lake (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff), crafty midfielder James Bowers (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), and single year sensations Andrew Mattei (Middletown, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Justin Shaffer (East Berlin, PA/Northern) will all sorely be missed. Penn State Harrisburg wishes them all the best in their post-graduation pursuits.