MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Harrisburg men's soccer team had to sit tight waiting out a weather delay before getting to kick off its home opener on Saturday, Sep. 8. The Lions were ready to play in front of their hometown crowd after a tough start last weekend culminated in two road losses on against very tough opponents in Lebanon Valley College and Susquehanna. The blue and white battled both the opponents in Mt. Aloysius and some wet conditions but managed to overcome both in the team's first win of the 2012 campaign; a 1-0 blanking of the Mounties.
After a one hour weather delay due to some nasty lightning in the area, the game got off to a slippery start. It was easy to see that both Penn State Harrisburg and the visitors were hungry for their first victory of the season.
Mt Aloysius got off to a good start in the first ten minutes of the game. They had the first good look at goal that was stopped nicely by Lion goalkeeper Charlie Hyson (Bel Air Md. / Calvert Hall) to keep the game scoreless. After the initial ten minutes, the blue and white found their rhythm and starting moving the ball as a team.
They had been working hard all week and the reward came in the form of a Tommy Miller (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra) header goal from a long throw in from defender Corey Duesler (Waynesboro, Pa. / Waynesboro). Miller's goal was scored in the 24th minute of the first half and was the junior's first of the season.
The second half of the game was very open as both teams had chances. Penn State Harrisburg did a good job creating opportunities into the final third of the field but a bad decision or pass at times kept the Lions from adding to their score total. Mt Aloysius had some of the same but it was more the Lions defense kept the Mounties from ever having any real quality chances.
"The back four, five really, including the keeper, played well and coped with anything they threw at them," said Head Coach Seamus Donnelly.
In the end, the Lions were able to hold off the weather and the Mounties to earn their first win of the season.
"It was great to get the season off and running with our first win," continued Donnelly. "I'm delighted for the boys because they worked so hard this week in practice and in the first two games which did not fall are way."
Although pleased with the win and the effort, Seamus also stated "the result was better than the performance"
Donnelly's attitude proves that he is developing a young group of hard working players, but he is a coach who is demanding more than just the end result. It's definitely a good sign of things to come as the program continues to grow under his tutelage.
Penn State Harrisburg next hits the pitch this Wednesday, Sep. 12 when the Lions host Albright College for another early season non-conference matchup.