MIDDLETOWN, Pa.- Penn State Harrisburg's men soccer team upset the number two-seeded Cazenovia Wildcats in an overtime thriller on Saturday, Nov. 5 and advanced to its second straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship game.  Unfortunately for the Lions, their underdog story came to an end when top seeded SUNYIT shut them out and claimed their second straight conference crown the next day.

The first meeting between the blue and white and Cazenovia was a physical contest that ended in a 1-1 tie on Oct. 16.  As regulation drew to a close, their postseason match was playing out the very same way.  But this time, with a definitive winner needed to advance, a tie was not an option.

The Wildcats outshot Penn State Harrisburg 13-9 but it was the last shot, the one taken by Lion sophomore Justin Henderson (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) with three minutes remaining in overtime that made difference.  The midfielder netted just his second goal of the year to clinch the 1-0 victory and send his team to its second consecutive NEAC title game.

The magic ended there however, as the Lions dropped the championship to SUNYIT, just as they had the year prior. 

In a chippy contest that saw 15 cards handed out by the officials, the other Wildcats scored two goals late and used three saves from NEAC player of the year Malick Faye (Bronx, NY/MLK) to seal the 2-0 win and advance to the NCAA Division III championship tournament.

The Lions finished the 2011 campaign 9-6-2 overall and 6-3-1 in conference play.  Senior forward Ian Lake (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) and sophomore goalkeeper Josh Wolff (Christiana, PA/Octorara) were named NEAC student-athletes of the week in September, and four players in Lake, Caleb Hoppes (Harrisburg, PA/Middletown), Brendan Garner (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) and Jonathan Joseph (Miramer, FL/Summerset) earned 2011 all-conference honors.