Westminster, Md. – Penn State Harrisburg faced off against their toughest opponent so far to date Tuesday afternoon on the road against McDaniel College. The Blue and White were coming off an impressive 4-1 win over Lancaster Bible and were hoping to give the Green Terror only their second loss of the season.
Penn State Harrisburg knew that today's game would be a physical battle, but continued to play their smart, simple and team oriented style of play. Unfortunately in the 13th minute McDaniel's Shane McCracken scored a goal off a long throw in. Despite the early goal, Harrisburg kept their composure and would not give in to the 5-1-1 Terror.
As the first half played out, Harrisburg worked to get the equalizer, but was unable to connect for the final touch to goal. A late first half goal by McDaniel put them down 2-0 instead. The Lions did not quit and played the second half dead even with the Green Terror. It was not the result they were hoping for, but it is definitely a great prep game for the upcoming CAC conference games that start this Saturday.
What is really great to see is the Lions youthful squad producing on both ends of the field. This includes two freshman starters from today Colby Brown (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) and Christian Schmoyer (Allentown, Pa. / Faith Christian Academy)who have played intregal parts for the Lion defense this year. Offensively freshmen Austin Katz (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township) and Johnathan Vanaskie (Shamokin, Pa. / Shamokin Area) have been pulling their share of the load. Katz had two shots today and has two goals this season, while Vanaskie has one so far this year and has started in 5 of the 7 games.
Coach Seamus Donnelly was available for comment post game and had this to say of his team and the match. "Considering our record, I am still very happy with the progress we have made. We are confident in the way we want to play the game and we will continue to play this way. Our goals are to improve within our style of play and also to compete with the more physical sides that we face. We know the road that lies ahead and how strong the CAC will be, but are far from being intimidated, we are truly relishing the challenge".
The Lions won't have to wait much longer. They face off against their first conference opponent Saturday at home against Southern Virginia at 3:00 p.m.