MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - The Penn State Harrisburg's men's soccer team knew they had a tough opponent coming to town as they hosted the #14 nationally-ranked York College Spartans on Wednesday night, Oct. 3.  The game proved to be a battle of two halves but in the end the Spartans had a little too much firepower for the Lions to handle as the blue and white took a 6-2 loss under the lights.

Penn State Harrisburg came ready to play.  The first half momentum had the team and the home town crowd believing that the upset could be a real possibility.  Even though York stuck first, scoring in the 17th minute, the Lions would not back down.  It took just under five minutes for the home team to grab an equalizer.  Justin Henderson (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) used his speed and determination to beat two defenders and the goalie before scoring his seventh goal of the season and tying the game at 1-1.

Unfortunately with just five minutes to go before halftime, the Spartans snuck in a late goal making the game 2-1.  The York momentum continued into the second half as they got an early goal in the 46th minute taking their lead to 3-1.  The Spartans continued to press until they got their fourth goal, but the Lions started to roar back.  In the 68th minute, Hakan Demircan (Wiesbaden, Germany / Wiesbaden American) got the blue and white back into the game with a great strike into the back of the net. Josh Bitner (Conestoga, Pa. / Penn Manor) made the assist.

Penn State Harrisburg continued to push and kept the ball on York's defensive half for the next 15 minutes hoping to get another goal and really make a game of it.  Unfortunately, two quick goals in the 83rd and 84th minutes sealed things up for the nationally-ranked Spartans.

"Overall I am very happy with how we played tonight," said Penn State Harrisburg Head Coach Seamus Donnelly.  "We gave a good account of ourselves and the boys represented their school in a very positive manner tonight.  Tactically we made some mistakes and York is a formidable opponent who will capitalize on those mistakes, which they did.  We played as hard as a team can play in defeat and we will look to clean up some of the tactical stuff and be a stronger team for it."

The Penn State Harrisburg men travel alongside the women's team to Lancaster Bible College this upcoming Saturday, Oct. 6 for a 2 p.m. kickoff in an important North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) matchup.